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A  UTHOR: 


[BLANCHARD,  MME.l 


TITLE: 


COMMON  SENSE,  HOW 
TO  EXERCISE  IT  ... 


PLACE: 


NEW  YORK 


DATE: 


1916 


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[Blanchard,  Mme.  j 

...  Coiniiion  sense,  how  to  exercise  it,  by  Yoritonio- 
Tashi,  annotated  by  B.  Danoennes  \psciid.]  Authorized 
ed.,  tr.  bv  Mine.  Leon  J.  Bcrthelot  de  la  Boileverie.  New 
York  lete.]  Funk  &  AV"a]L»iialls  eonipany,  1916. 

2  p.  I.,  iii-xi,  13-183  p.     1  illus.     ISi*""'.    (Mental  elTicicncy  scries,     [v.  5i) 


X  Conduct  of  life.        I.  Berthelot  de  la  Boileverie,  Mme.  Lily  Kendall 
Beers,  tr.     ii    Yoritonio-Tashi.     in.  Title. 


Library  of  Congress 
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COMMON  SENSE 

HOW  TO  EXERCISE  IT 


THE    TEN    TITLES   IN    THE 

MENTAL    EFFICIENCY    SERIES 

POISE:   HOW  TO  ATTAIN  IT 

D    Starke 
CHAEACTEE:  HOW  TO  STEENGTHEN  IT 

D    Starke 
TIMIDITY:   HOW  TO  OVEECOME  IT 

Yoritomo-Tashi 
INFLUENCE :  HOW  TO  EXEET  IT 

Yoritomo-Tashi 
COMMON  SENSE:  HOW  TO  EXEECISE  IT 

Yoritomo-Tashi 
PEACTICALITY:   HOW  TO  ACQUIEE  IT 

E.   NiCOLLE 

OPPOETUNITIES:    HOW   TO  MAKE   THE 
MOST  OF  THEM 

L.  Charley 
PEESEVEEANCE:  HOW  TO  DETELOP  IT 

H.  Besser 
SPEECH:   HOW  TO  USE  IT 
EFFECTIVELY 

Xanthes 
PEESONALITY:   HOW  TO  BUILD  IT 

H.  Laurent 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANti 
Publishers 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 


' 


MENTAL   EFFICIENCY  SERIES 


COMMON  SENSE 

HOW  TO  EXERCISE  IT 


By  YORITOMO-TASHI 


Annotated  by  B.  Dangennes 


AUTHORIZED  EDITION 


Teanslated  by 
Mme.  Leon  J.  Beethelot  de  la  Boileveedb 


I  ®  1^  ® 


FUNK   &   WAGNALLS    COMPANY 


NEW   YOEK 


LONDON 


1916 


^IFPORD  GRAY  COLU&GTl^ti 

Copyright,  1915,  bt 

FUNK  &  WAG N ALLS  COMPANY 

[printed  in  the  United  States  of  America} 

All  rights  reserved 


\10 

3  S3^ 


i 


ANNOUNCEMENT 

The  quality  popularly  designated  as  "Com- 
mon Sense"  comprehends,  according  to  the 
modern  point  of  view,  the  sound  judgment  of 
mankind  when  reflecting  upon  problems  of 
truth  and  conduct  without  bias  from  logical 
subtleties  or  selfish  interests.  It  is  one  of 
Nature's  priceless  gifts;  an  income  in  itself,  it 
is  as  valuable  as  its  application  is  rare. 

How  often  we  hear  the  expression  **Why,  I 
never  thought  of  that!"  Why'i  Because  we 
have  failed  to  exercise  Common  Sense — ^that 
genius  of  mankind,  which  when  properly  di- 
rected is  the  one  attribute  that  will  carry  man 
and  his  kind  successfully  through  the  perplexi- 
ties of  life.  Common  Sense  is  as  a  plant  of 
delicate  growth,  in  need  of  careful  training  and 
continued  watching  so  that  it  may  bear  fruit  at 
aU  seasons.  In  the  teachings  that  follow,  the 
venerable  Shogun,  Yoritomo-Tashi,  points  out 
that  Common  Sense  is  a  composite  product  con- 
sisting of  (1)  Perception;  (2)  Memory;  (3) 
Thought;  (4)  Alertness;  (5)  Deduction;  (6) 
Foresight;  (7)  Reason,  and  (8)  Judgment  Di». 

iii 


I'' 


IV 


ANNOUNCEMENT 


cussing  each  of  these  separately,  he  indicates 
their  relations  and  how  they  may  be  successfully 
employed.  Further,  he  warns  one  against  the 
dangers  that  lurk  in  moral  inertia,  indifference, 
sentimentality,  egotism,  etc. 

Common  Sense  is  a  quality  that  must  be  de- 
veloped if  it  is  to  be  utilized  to  the  full  of  its 
practical  value.  Indispensable  to  this  develop- 
ment are  such  qualifications — (1)  Ability  to 
grasp  situations;  (2)  Ability  to  concentrate  the 
mind;  (3)  Keenness  of  perception ;  (4)  Exercise 
of  the  reasoning  power;  (5)  Power  of  approxi- 
mation; (6)  Calmness;  (7)  Self-control,  etc. 
Once  mastered,  these  qualifications  enable  one 
to  reap  the  reward  of  a  fine  and  an  exalted 
sense,  and  of  a  practical  common  sense  which 
sees  things  as  they  are  and  does  things  as  they 
should  be  done. 

The  desire  for  knowledge,  like  the  thirst  for 
wealth,  increases  by  acquisition,  but  as  Bishop 
Lee  has  told  us,  **  Knowledge  without  common 
sense  is  folly ;  without  method  it  is  waste ;  with- 
out  kindness  it  is  fanaticism;  without  religion 
it  is  death."  But,  Dean  Farrar  added:  **With 
common  sense,  it  is  wisdom;  with  method  it  is 
power;  with  charity  beneficence;  with  religion 
it  is  virtue,  life,  and  peace.' 


99 


ANNOUNCEMENT  v 

In  these  pages,  Yoritomo-Tashi  teaches  his 
readers  how  to  overcome  such  defects  of  the 
understanding  as  may  beset  them.  He  shows 
them  how  to  acquire  and  develop  Common 
Sense  and  practical  sense,  how  to  apply  them 
in  their  daily  lives,  and  how  to  utilize  them 
profitably  in  the  business  world. 

To  him  Common  Sense  is  the  crown  of  all 
faculties.  Exercised  vigilantly,  it  leads  to  prog- 
ress and  prosperity,  therefore,  says  he  "Enthu- 
siasm is  as  brittle  as  crystal,  but  Common  Sense 

is  durable  act  brass.'* 

The  Publishers. 


X 


PREFACE 

Why  should  I  hesitate  to  express  the  pleasure 
I  felt  on  learning  that  the  public,  already  deeply 
interested  in  the  teachings  of  Yoritomo-Tashi, 
desired  to  be  made  familiar  with  them  in  a  new 
form? 

This  knowledge  meant  many  interesting  and 
pleasant  hours  of  work  in  prospect  for  me,  re- 
calling the  time  passed  in  an  atmosphere  of  that 
peace  which  gives  birth  to  vibrations  of  health- 
ful thoughts  whose  radiance  vitalizes  the  soul. 

It  was  also  with  a  zeal,  intensified  by  mem- 
ories of  the  little  deserted  room  in  the  provincial 
museum,  where  silence  alone  could  lend  rhythm 
to  meditation,  that  I  turned  over  again  and 
again  the  leaves  of  those  precious  manuscripts, 
translating  the  opinions  of  him  whose  keen  and 
ornate  psychology  we  have  so  often  enjoyed  to- 
gether. 

It  was  with  the  enthusiastic  attention  of  the 
disciple  that  once  more  I  scanned  the  pages, 
where  the  broadest  and  most  humane  compassion 
allies  itself  with  those  splendid  virtues:  Energy 
—Will — ^Reason. 

Til 


vm 


PREFACE 


For  altho  Yoritomo  glorifies  the  Will  and 
Energy  under  all  their  aspects,  he  knows  also 
how  to  find,  in  his  heart,  that  tenderness  which 
transforms  these  forces,  occasionally  somewhat 
brutal,  into  powers  for  good,  whose  presence 
are  always  an  indication  of  favorable  results. 

He  knows  how  to  clothe  his  teachings  in  fable 
and  appealing  legend,  and  his  exotic  soul,  so 
near  and  yet  so  far,  reminds  one  of  a  flower, 
whose  familiar  aspect  is  transmuted  into  rare 

perfume. 

By  him  the  sternest  questions  are  stript  of 
their  hostile  aspects  and  present  themselves  in 
the  alluring  form  of  the  simplest  allegories  of 
striking  poetic  intensity. 

When  reading  his  works,  one  recalls  uncon- 
sciously the  orations  of  the  ancient  philosophers, 
delivered  in  those  dazzling  gardens,  luxuriant  in 
sunlight  and  fragrant  with  flowers. 

In  this  far-away  past,  one  sees  also  the  sil- 
houette of  a  majestic  figure,  whose  school  of 
'philosophy  became  a  religion,  which  interested 
the  world  because  it  spoke  both  of  love  and 

goodness. 

But  in  spite  of  this  fact,  the  doctrines  of 
Yoritomo  are  of  an  imaginative  type. 

His  kingdom  belongs  to  this  world,  and  hk 


PREFACE 


IX 


theories  seek  less  the  joys  of  the  hereafter  than 
of  that  tangible  happiness  which  is  found  m 
the  realization  of  the  manly  virtues  and  in  that 
effort  to  create  perfect  harmony  from  which 
flows  perfect  peace. 

He  takes  us  by  the  hand,  in  order  to  lead 
us  to  the  center  of  that  Eden  of  Knowledge 
where  we  have  already  discovered  the  art  of 
persuasion,  and  that  art,  most  difBcult  of  aU 
to  acquire— the  mastery  of  timidity. 

Following  him,  we  shall  penetrate  once  more 
this  Eden,  that  we  may  stady  with  Yoritomo 
the  manner  of  acquiring  this  art— somewhat  un- 
attractive perhaps  but  essentially  primordial- 
called  Common  Sense. 

B.  Dangennes. 


CONTENTS 

LESSON  P^COB 

Announcement  ..•••••  iii 

Preface >     .  vii 

I.  Common  Sense:  What  Is  It?  .     .     .  13 

II.  The  Fight  Against  Illusion  ...  30 

III.  The  Development  of  the  Reasoning 

Power 43 

IV.  Common  Sense  and  Impulse  ...     59 
V.  The  Dangers  of  Sentimentality  .     .     73 

VI.  The   Utility   of    Common    Sense   in 

Daily  Life 86 

VII.  Power  of  Deduction 100 

VIII.  How  to  Acquire  Common  Sense  .     .  114 

IX.  Common  Sense  and  Action  .     .     .  134 

X.  The  Most  Thorough  Business  Man  .  148 

XI.  Common  Sense  and  Self-Control  .     .  163 

XII.  Common    Sense    Does   Not   Exclude 

Great  Aspirations 174 


LESSON  I 


/ 


I 


\ 


COMMON  SENSE:  WHAT  IS  IT? 

One  beautiful  evening  Yoritomo-TasM  was 
strolling  in  the  gardens  of  his  master,  Lang-Ho, 
listening  to  the  wise  counsels  which  he  knew 
so  well  how  to  give  in  all  attractiveness  of  alle- 
gory, when,  suddenly,  he  paused  to  describe  a 
part  of  the  land  where  the  gardener's  industry 
was  less  apparent. 

Here  parasitic  plants  had,  by  means  of  their 
tendrils,  crept  up  the  shrubbery  and  stifled  the 
greater  part  of  its  flowers. 

Only  a  few  of  them  reached  the  center  of  the 
crowded  bunches  of  the  grain  stalks  and  of  the 
trailing  vines  that  interlaced  the  tiny  bands 
which  held  them  against  the  wall. 

One  plant  alone,  of  somber  blossom  and  rough 
leaves,  was  able  to  flourish  even  in  close  proxim- 
ity to  the  wild  verdure;  it  seemed  that  this 
plant  had  succeeded  in  avoiding  the  dangerous 
entanglements  of  the  poisonous  plants  because 
of  its  tenacious  and  fearless  qualities,  at  the 

13 


I    T 


u 


COMMON   SENSE 


same  time  its  shadow  was  not  welcome  to  the 
useless  and  noxious  creeping  plants. 

''Behold,  my  son/'  said  the  Sage,  *'and  learn 
how  to  understand  the  teachings  of  nature: 
The  parasitic  plants  represent  negligence 
against  the  force  of  which  the  best  of  intentions 
vanish. 

''Energy,  however,  succeeds  in  oveft-coming 
these  obstacles  which  increase  daily;  it  marks 
out  its  course  among  entanglements  and  rises 
from  the  midst  of  the  most  encumbered  centers, 
beautiful  and  strong. 

"Ambition  and  audacity  show  themselves  also 
after  having  passed  through  thousands  of  diffi- 
culties  and  having  overcome  them  all. 

"Common  sense  rarely  needs  to  strive;  it 
unfolds  itself  in  an  atmosphere  of  peace,  far 
from  the  tumult  of  obstructions  and  snares 
that  are  not  easily  avoided. 

"Its  flower  is  less  alluring  than  many  others, 
but  it  never  allows  itself  to  be  completely  hid- 
den through  the  wild  growth  of  neighboring 
branches. 

"It  dominates  them  easily,  because  it  has  al- 
ways  kept  them  at  a  distance. 

"Modest  but  self-sustaining,  it  is  seen  blossom- 
ing far  from  the  struggles  which  always  retard 


COMMON  SENSE:  WHAT  IS  IT?    15 

the  blossoming  of  plants  and  which  render  their 
flowering  slower  and,  at  times,  short-lived." 

A  most  absurd  preiudice  has  occasionally  con- 
sidered common  sense  to  be  an  inferior  quality 
of  mind. 

This  error  arises  from  the  fact  that  it  can 
adapt  itself  as  well  to  the  most  elevated  con- 
ceptions as  to  the  most  elemental  mentalities. 

To  those  who  possess  common  sense  is  given 
the  faculty  of  placing  everything  in  its  proper 
rank. 

It  does  not  underestimate  the  value  of  senti- 
ments by  attributing  to  them  an  exaggerated 
importance. 

It  permits  us  to  consider  fictitious  reasons 
with  reservation  and  of  resolutely  rejecting 
those  that  resort  to  the  weapons  of  hypocrisy. 

Persons  who  cultivate  common  sense  never 
refuse  to  admit  their  errors. 

One  may  truly  affirm  that  they  are  rarely  far 
from  the  truth,  because  they  practise  directness 
of  thought  and  force  themselves  never  to  deviate 
from  this  mental  attitude. 

Abandoning  for  a  moment  his  favorite  dem- 
onstration by  means  of  symbolism,  Yoritoma 
said  to  us : 

"Common  sense  should  be  thus  defined: 

V.2 


16 


COMMON    SENSE 


**It  is  a  central  sense,  toward  which  all  im- 
pressions converge  and  unite  in  one  sentiment— 
the  desire  for  the  truth. 

*'For  people  who  possess  common  sense,  every- 
thing is  summed  up  in  one  unique  perception : 

**The  love  of  directness  and  simplicity. 

**A11  thoughts  are  found  to  be  related;  the 
preponderance  of  these  two  sentiments  makes 
itself  felt  in  all  resolutions,  and  chiefly  in  the 
reflections  which  determine  them. 

**  Common  sense  permits  us  to  elude  fear 
which  always  seizes  those  whose  judgment 
vacillates;  it  removes  the  defiance  of  the  Will 
and  indicates  infallibly  the  correct  attitude  to 

assume." 

And  Yoritomo,  whose  mind  delighted  in  ex- 
tending his  observations  to  the  sociological  side 
of  the  question,  adds: 

'*  Common  sense  varies  in  its  character,  ac- 
cording to  surroundings  and  education. 

*'The  common  sense  of  one  class  of  people  is 
not  the  same  as  that  of  a  neighboring  class. 

''Certain  customs,  which  seem  perfectly 
natural  to  Japan  would  offend  those  belonging 
to  the  western  world,  just  as  our  Nippon  preju- 
dices would  find  themselves  ill  at  ease  among 
certain  habits  customary  among  Europeans." 


' 


COMMON  SENSE:  WHAT  IS  IT.?     17 

*' Common  sense,"  he  continues,  ** takes  good 
care  not  to  assail  violently  those  beliefs  which 
tradition  has  transmuted  into  principles. 

**  However,  if  direct  criticism  of  those  beliefs 
causes  common  sense  to  be  regarded  unfavor- 
ably, it  will  be  welcomed  with  the  greatest  re- 
serve and  will  maintain  a  certain  prudence  re- 
lative to  this  criticism,  which  will  be  equivalent 
to  a  proffered  reproach. 

**  Common  sense  often  varies  as  to  external 
aspects,  dependent  upon  education,  for  it  is  evi- 
dent that  a  diamio  (Japanese  prince)  can  not 
judge  of  a  subject  in  the  same  way  as  would  a 
man  belonging  to  the  lowest  class  of  society. 

*'The  same  object  can  become  desirable  or  un- 
desirable according  to  the  rank  it  occupies. 

**Must  one  believe  that  common  sense  is  ex- 
cluded from  two  such  incompatible  opinions? 

*'No,  not  at  all;  an  idea  can  be  rejected  or 
accepted  by  common  sense  without  violating  the 
principles  of  logic  in  the  least. 

**If,  as  one  frequently  sees,  an  idea  be  un- 
acceptable because  of  having  been  presented  be- 
fore those  belonging  to  a  particular  environ- 
ment, common  sense,  by  applying  its  laws,  will 
recognize  that  the  point  of  view  must  be 
changed  before  the  idea  can  become  acceptable." 


18 


COMMON    SENSE 


And  again,  Yoritomo  calls  our  attention  to  iet 
peculiar  circumstance. 

'* Common  sense,"  he  says,  "is  the  art  of  re- 
solving questions,  not  the  art  of  posing  them. 

**When  taking  the  initiative  it  is  rarely  on 

trial. 

**But  the  moment  it  is  a  case  of  applying 
practically  that  which  ingenuity,  science  or 
genius  have  invented,  it  intervenes  in  the  hap- 
piest and  most  decisive  manner. 

''Common  sense  is  the  principle  element  of 

discernment. 

**  Therefore,  without  this  quality,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  judge  either  of  the  proposition  or  the 
importance  of  the  subject. 

"It  is  only  with  the  aid  of  common  sense 
that  it  is  possible  to  distinguish  the  exact  nature 
of  the  proposition,  submitted  for  a  just  appre- 
ciation, and  to  render  a  solution  of  it  which 
conforms  to  perfect  accuracy  of  interpretation. 

*'The  last  point  is  essential  and  has  its  judicial 
function  in  all  the  circumstances  cf  life.  With- 
out accuracy,  common  sense  can  not  be  satis- 
factorily developed,  because  it  finds  itself  con- 
tinually shocked  by  incoherency,  resulting  from 
a  lack  of  exactness  in  the  expression  of 
opinions.'* 


COMMON  SENSE:  WHAT  IS  IT?     19 


If  we  wish  to  know  what  the  principal  quali- 
ties are  which  form  common  sense,  we  shall  turn 
over  a  few  pages  and  we  shall  read : 

*  *  Common  sense  is  the  synthesis  of  many  senti- 
ments, all  of  which  converge  in  forming  it. 

"The  first  of  these  sentiments  is  reason, 

"Then  follows  moderation, 

"To  these  one  may  add: 

"The  faculty  of  penetration; 

"The  quality  consistency, 

"Then,  wisdom,  which  permits  us  to  profit  by 
the  lessons  of  experience. 

"A  number  of  other  qualities  must  be  added 
to  these,  in  order  to  complete  the  formation  of 
common  sense;  but,  altho  important,  they  are 
only  the  satellites  of  those  we  have  just  named. 

"Reason  is  really  indispen:,able  to  the  pro- 
jectiori  of  healthy  thoughts. 

"The  method  of  reasoning  should  be  the  ex- 
haustive study  of  minute  detail,  of  which  we 
shall  speak  later. 

"For  the  moment  we  shall  content  ourselves 
by  indicating,  along  the  broad  lines  of  argument, 
what  is  meant  by  this  word  reason. 

"Reasoning  is  the  art  of  fixing  the  relative- 
ness  of  things. 

"It  is  by  means  of  reasoning  that  it  is  pos- 


20 


COMMON    SENSE 


sible  to  differentiate  events  and  to  indicate  to 
what  category  they  belong. 

**  It  is  the  habit  of  reasoning  to  determine  that 
which  it  is  wise  to  undertake,  thus  permitting  us 
to  judge  what  should  be  set  aside. 

**How  could  we  guide  ourselves  through  life 
without  the  beacon-light  of  reason?  It  pierces 
the  darkness  of  social  ignorance,  it  helps  us  to 
distinguish  vaguely  objects  heretofore  plunged 
in  obscurity,  and  which  will  always  remain  in- 
visible to  those  who  are  unprovided  with  this 
indispensable  accessory— the  gift  of  reasoning. 

''He  who  ventures  in  the  darkness  and  walks 
haphazard,  finds  himself  suddenly  confronted 
by  obstacles  which  he  was  unable  to  foresee. 

''He  finds  himself  frightened  by  forms  whose 
nature  he  can  not  define,  and  is  often  tempted 
to  attribute  silhouettes  of  assassins  to  branches 
of  trees,  instead  of  recognizing  the  real  culprit 
who  is  watching  him  from  the  comer  of  the 

wild  forest. 

"Life,  as  weU  as  the  wildest  wilderness,  is 
strewn  ^th  pitfalls.  To  think  of  examining  it 
rapidly,  without  the  aid  of  that  torch  called 
reason,  would  be  imitating  the  man  of  whom  we 
have  just  spoken. 

"Many  are  the  mirages,  which  lead  us  to  mis- 


COMMON  SENSE:  WHAT  IS  IT?     21 

take  dim  shadows  for  disquieting  realities,  un- 
less we  examine  them  critically,  for  otherwise 
we  can  never  ascribe  to  them  their  true  value. 

"Certain  incidents,  which  seem  at  first  sight 
to  be  of  small  importance,  assume  a  primordial 
value  when  we  have  explained  them  by  means 
of  reasoning. 

"To  reason  about  a  thing  is  to  dissect  it,  to 
examine  it  from  every  point  of  view  before 
adopting  it,  before  deferring  to  it  or  before 
rejecting  it ;  in  one  word,  to  reason  about  a  thing 
is  to  act  with  conscious  volition,  which  is  one  of 
the  phases  essential  to  the  conquest  of  common 
sense. 

"This  principle  conceded,  it  then  becomes  a 
question  of  seriously  studying  the  method  of 
reasoning,  which  we  propose  to  do  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner  but  first  it  is  necessary  to  be 
convinced  of  this  truth." 

Without  reason  there  is  no  common  sense. 

Yoritomo  teaches  us  that,  altho  moderation 
is  only  of  secondary  importance,  it  is  still  indis- 
pensable to  the  attainment  of  common  sense. 

It  is  moderation  which  incites  us  to  restrain 
our  impatience,  to  silence  our  inexplicable  anti- 
pathies and  to  put  a  break  on  our  tempestuous 
enthusiasms. 


^^ 


COMMON   SENSE 


Can  one  judge  of  the  aspect  of  a  garden  while 
the  tempest  is  twisting  the  branches  of  the 
trees,  tearing  off  the  tendrils  of  the  climbing 
vines,  scattering  the  petals  of  the  flowers  and 
spoiling  the  corollas  already  in  full  bloom? 

And  now,  Yoritomo,  who  loves  to  illustrate 
his  teachings  by  expressive  figures  of  speech, 
tells  us  the  following  story. 

**A  Japanese  prince,  on  awakening,  one  day, 
demanded  lazily  of  his  servants  what  kind  of 
weather  it  was,  but  he  forbade  them  to  raise  the 
awnings  which  kept  a  cool,  dim  light  in  his  room 
and  shielded  his  eyes  from  the  strong  light  from 
without.  The  two  servants  left  him  reclining 
upon  his  divan  and  went  into  the  adjoining 
room,  where  the  stained-glass  windows  were  not 
hung  with  curtains. 

*'One  of  them,  putting  his  face  close  to  a  yel- 
low-tinted pane  of  glass,  exclaimed  in  admira- 
tion of  the  beautiful  garden,  bathed  in  the  early 
morning  sunlight. 

**The  second  one,  directing  his  gaze  to  a  dark 
blue  pane  and,  looking  through  the  center,  re- 
marked to  his  companion,  I  see  no  sunshine,  the 
day  is  dreary  and  the  clouds  cast  gloomy 
shadows  upon  the  horizon. 

"Each  one  returned  to  relate  their  impressions 


COMMON  SENSE:  WHAT  IS  IT?    23 

of  the  weather,  and  the  prince  wondered  at  the 
different    visions,    unable    to    understand    the 


99 


reason. 

There,  concluded  the  Shogun,  that  is  what 
happens  to  people  who  do  not  practise  moder- 
ation. 

Those,  who  see  things  through  the  medium  of 
enthusiasm  refuse  to  recognize  that  they  could 
be  deprived  of  brilliancy  and  beauty. 

The  others,  those  who  look  upon  things  from 
a  pessimistic  standpoint,  never  find  anything  in 
them  save  pretexts  for  pouring  out  to  their 
hearers  tales  of  wo  and  misery. 

All  find  themselves  deceptively  allured ;  some 
rush  toward  illusion,  others  do  not  wish  to  admit 
the  positive  chances  for  success,  and  both  lack- 
ing moderation,  they  start  from  a  basis  of  false 
premises  from  which  they  draw  deplorable  con- 
clusions, thus  defeating  future  success. 

The  spirit  of  penetration,  according  to  the 
old  Nippon  philosopher,  is  not  always  a  natural 
gift.  **It  is,"  said  he,  "a  quality  which  certain 
people  possess  in  a  very  high  degree  but  which 
in  spite  this  fact  should  be  strengthened  by  will 
and  discipline. 

**One  can  easily  acquire  this  faculty  by  en- 
deavoring to  foresee  the  solution  of  contem- 


i  :i 


M 


COMMON    SENSE 


porary  events;  or  at  least  try  to  explain  the 
hidden  reasons  which  have  produced  them. 

*' Great  effects  are  produced,  many  times,  from 
seemingly  unimportant  causes,  and  it  is,  above 
all,  to  the  significant  details  that  the  spirit  of 
penetration  should  give  unceasing  and  un- 
divided  attention. 

''Everything  around  us  can  serve  as  a  sub- 
ject for  careful  study ;  political  events,  incidents 
which  interest  family  or  friends,  all  may  serve 
as  just  so  many  themes  for  earnest  reflection. 

*'It  is  always  preferable  to  confine  this  analy- 
sis to  subjects  in  which  we  have  no  personal 
interest;  thus  we  shall  accustom  ourselves  to 
judge  of  people  and  things  dispassionately  and 
impersonally.  This  is  the  quality  of  mind 
necessary  to  the  perfect  development  of  pene- 
tration. 

**If,  for  any  reason,  passion  should  create 
confusion  of  ideas,  clearness  of  understanding 
would  be  seriously  compromised  and  firmness 
of  judgment,  by  deteriorating,  would  cast  aside 
the  manifestation  of  common  sense. 

**The  spirit  consistency  is  perhaps  more  diflS- 
cult  to  conquer,   for  it  is   a   combination   of 
many  of  the  qualities  previously  mentioned. 
**Its  inspiration  is  drawn  from  the  reasoning 


1 


( 


COMMON  SENSE:  WHAT  IS  IT.?     25 

faculty,  it  can  not  exist  without  moderation  and 
implies  a  certain  amount  of  penetration,  because 
it  must  act  under  the  authority  of  conviction. 

**If  you  strike  long  enough  in  the  same  place 
on  the  thickest  piece  of  iron,  in  time  it  will  be- 
come as  thin  as  the  most  delicate  kakemono  [a 
picture  which  hangs  in  Japanese  homes]. 

'*It  is  impossible  to  define  the  spirit  of  con- 
sistency more  accurately. 

**It  is  closely  related  to  perseverance,  but  can 
not  be  confounded  with  it,  because  the  attributes 
of  consistency  have  their  origin  in  logic  and 
reason  which  does  not  produce  one  act  alone  but 
a  series  of  acts  sometimes  dependent,  always 

inferred. 

**The  spirit  of  consistency  banishes  all 
thought  derogatory  to  the  subject  in  question; 
it  is  the  complete  investiture  of  sentiments,  all 
converging  toward  a  unique  purpose." 

This  purpose  can  be  of  very  great  importance 
aad  the  means  of  attainment  multiform,  but  the 
dominant  idea  will  always  direct  the  continuous 
achievements;  under  their  different  manifesta- 
tions—and these  at  times  contradictory— they 
will  never  be  other  than  the  emanation  of  a 
direct  thought,  whose  superior  authority  is 
closely  united  to  the  final  success. 


126 


COMMON    SENSE 


Wisdom,  continued  the  philosopher,  should  be 
mentioned  here  only  as  the  forerunner  which 
permits  us  to  analyze  experience. 

It  is  from  this  never-ending  lesson  which  life 
teaches  us  that  the  wisdom  of  old  age  is  learned. 

But  is  it  really  necessary  to  reach  the  point 
of  decrepitude,  in  order  to  profit  by  an  experi- 
ence, actually  useless  at  that  time,  as  is  always 
a  posthumous  conquest. 

'*Is  it  not  much  better  to  compel  its  attain- 
ment when  the  hair  is  black  and  the  heart  ca- 
pable of  hope? 

**Why  give  to  old  age  alone  the  privileges 
of  wisdom  and  experience? 

**It  is  high  time  to  combat  so  profound  an 

error. 

*'Is  it  not  a  cruel  irony  which  renders  such 

a  gift  useless  ? 

**0f  what  benefit  is  wisdom  resulting  from 
experience  if  it  can  not  preserve  us  from  the 
unfortunate  seduction  of  youth? 

**Why  should  its  beauty  be  unveiled  only  to 
those  who  can  no  longer  profit  by  it?"  This  is 
the  opinion  of  Yoritomo,  who  says : 

**What  would  be  thought  of  one  who  prided 
himself  on  possessing  bracelets  when  he  had  lost 
his  two  arms  in  war? 


COMMON  SENSE:  WHAT  IS  IT?     27 

**It  is,  therefore,  necessary,  not  only  to  en- 
courage young  people  to  profit  by  lessons  of 
wisdom  and  experience,  but,  still  further,  to 
indicate  to  them  how  they  can  accomplish  the 
result  of  these  lessons. 

**It  is  certain  that  he  who  can  recall  a  long 
life  ought  to  understand  better  than  the  young 
man  all  the  pitfalls  with  which  it  is  strewn.  ^ 

'*But  does  he  always  judge  of  it  without  bias 
or  prejudice  ? 

*'Does  he  not  find  acceptable  pretexts  for  ex- 
cusing his  past  faults  and  does  he  not  exaggerate 
the  rewards  for  excellence,  which  have  accorded 
him  advantages,  due  at  times  to  chance  or  to 
the  force  of  circumstances? 

**  Finally,  the  old  man  can  not  judge  of  the 
sentiments  which  he  held  at  twenty  years  of 
age,  unless  it  be  by  the  aid  of  reminiscences,  more 
or  less  fieeting,  and  an  infinitely  attenuated  in- 
tensity of  representation. 

'*  Emotive  perception  being  very  much  weak- 
ened, the  integrity  of  memory  must  be  less  exact. 

**Then,  in  the  recession  of  years,  some  de- 
tails, which  were  at  times  factors  of  the  initial 
idea,  are  less  vivid,  thus  weakening  the  power 
of  reason  which  was  the  excuse,  the  pretext,  or 
the  origin  of  the  act. 


S8 


COMMON    SENSE 


"This  is  why,  altho  we  may  honor  the  wisdom 
of  the  aged,  it  is  well  to  acquire  it  at  a  time 
when  we  may  use  it  as  a  precious  aid. 

**To  those  who  insist  that  nothing  is  equiva- 
lent to  personal  experience,  we  shall  renew  our 
argument,  begging  them  to  meditate  on  the 
preceding  lines,  drawing  their  attention  to  the 
fact  that  a  just  opinion  can  only  be  formed 
when  personal  sentiment  is  excluded  from  the 
discussion. 

*'Is  it,  then,  necessary  to  have  experienced 
pain  in  order  to  prevent  or  cure  it  ? 

*'The  majority  of  physicians  have  never  been 
killed  by  the  disease  they  treat. 

*'Does  this  fact  prevent  them  from  combatting 
disease  victoriously? 

**And  since  we  are  speaking  of  common 
sense  we  shall  not  hesitate  to  invoke  it  in  this 
instance,  and  all  will  agree  that  it  should  dic- 
tate our  reply. 

''Then  why  could  we  not  do  for  the  soul  that 
which  can  be  done  for  the  body? 

''It  is  first  from  books,  then  from  the  lessons 
of  life  that  physicians  learn  the  principles 
underlying  their  knowledge  of  disease  and  its 
healing  remedies. 

"Is   it   absolutely    indispensable    for   us  to 


COMMON  SENSE:  WHAT  IS  IT?     29 

poison  ourselves  in  order  to  know  that  such  and 
such  a  plant  is  harmful  and  that  another  con- 
tains the  healing  substance  which  destroys  the 
effects  of  the  poison? 

"We  may  all  possess  wisdom  if  we  are  willing 
to  be  persuaded  that  the  experience  of  others  is 
as  useful  as  our  own." 

The  events  which  multiply  about  us,  Yori- 
tomo  says,  ought  to  be,  for  each  master,  an  op- 
portunity for  awakening  in  the  soul  of  his 
disciples  a  perfect  reasoning  power,  starting 
from  the  inception  of  the  premises  to  arrive  at 
the  conclusions  of  all  arguments. 

From  the  repetition  of  events,  from  their  co- 
relation,  from  their  equivalence,  from  their 
parallelism,  knowledge  will  be  derived  and  will 
be  productive  of  good  results,  in  proportion  as 
egotistical  sentiment  is  eliminated  from  them; 
and  slowly,  with  the  wisdom  acquired  by  experi- 
ence, common  sense  will  manifest  itself  tranquil 
and  redoubtable,  working  always  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  good  as  does  everything  which  is 
the  emblem  of  strength  and  peace. 


LESSON  n 
THE  FIGHT  AGAINST  ILLUSION 

Common  Sense  such  as  we  have  just  described 
it,  according  to  Yoritomo,  is  the  absolute  anti- 
thesis  of  dreamy  imagination,  it  is  the  sworn 
enemy  of  iUusion,  against  which  it  struggles 
from  the  moment  of  contact. 

Common  sense  is  solid,  illusion  is  yielding, 
also  illusion  never  issues  victorious  from  a  com- 
bat with  it ;  during  a  struggle  illusion  endeavors 
vainly  to  display  its  subterfuges  and  cunning; 
illusions  disappear  one  by  one,  crusht  by  the 
powerful  arms  of  their  terrible  adversary- 
common  sense. 

**The  worship  of  illusion,"  says  Yoritomo, 
"presents  certain  dangers  to  the  integrity  of 
judgment,  which,  under  such  influence,  falsifies 
the  comparative  faculty,  and  sways  decision  to 
the  side  of  neutrality. 

''This  kind  of  mental  half -sleep  is  extremely 
detrimental  to  manifestations  of  reason,  because 
this  torpor  excludes  it  from  imaginary  concep- 
tions. 

80 


THE  FIGHT  AGAINST  ILLUSION    31 

''Little  by  little  the  lethargy  caused  by  this 
intellectual  paralysis  produces  the  effect  of 
fluidie  contagion  over  all  our  faculties. 

"Energy,  which  ought  to  be  the  principle 
factor  in  our  resolutions,  becomes  feeble  and 
powerless  at  the  point  where  we  no  longer  care 
to  feel  its  hifluence. 

"The  sentiment  of  effort  exists  no  longer, 
since  we  are  pleased  to  resolve  aU  difficulties 
without  it. 

"In  this  inconstant  state  of  mind,  common 
sense,  after  wandering  a  moment  withdraws  it- 
self, and  we  find  that  we  are  delivered  over  to 
all  the  perils  of  imagination. 

"Nothing  that  we  see  thus  confusedly  is  found 
on  the  plane  which  belongs  to  common  sense ;  the 
ideas,  associated  by  a  capricious  tie,  bind  and 
unbind  themselves,  without  imposing  the  neces- 
sity of  a  solution. 

"The  man  who  allows  himself  to  be  influenced 
by  vague  dreams,"  adds  the  Shogun,  "must,  if 
he  does  not  react  powerfully,  bid  farewell  to 
common  sense  and  reason;  for  he  will  experi- 
ence so  great  a  charm  in  forgetting,  even  for  one 
moment,  the  reality  of  life,  that  he  will  seek  to 
prolong  this  blest  moment. 

'He  will  renounce  logic,  whose  conclusions 


it 


V.3 


32  COMMON    SENSE 

are,  at  times,  opposed  to  his  desires,  and  he  will 
plunge  himself  into  that  false  delight  of  awak- 
ened  dreams,  or,  as  some  say,  day-dreams. 

''Those  who  defend  this  artificial  conception 
of  happiness,  like  to  compare  people  of  common 
sense  to  heavy  infantry  soldiers,  who  march 
along  through  stony  roads,  while  they  depict 
themselves  as  pleasant  bird-fanciers,  givmg 
flight  to  the  fantastic  bearers  of  wings. 

*'But  they  do  not  take  into  account  the  fact 
that  the  birds,  for  whom  they  open  the  cage,  fly 
away  without  the  intention  of  returning,  leaving 
them  thus  deceived  and  deprived  of  the  birds, 
while  the  rough  infantry  soldiers,  after  many 
hardships,  reach  the  desired  end  which  they  had 
proposed  to  attain,  thus  realizing  the  joys  of 

conquest. 

''There  they  find  the  rest  and  security,  which 
the  possessors  of  fugitive  birds  will  never  know. 

"Those  who  cultivate  common  sense  will  al- 
ways ignore  the  collapses  which  follow  the  dis- 
appearance of  illusions. 

"How  many  men  have  suffered  thus  use- 
lessly ! 

"And  what  is  more  stupid  than  a  sorrow, 
voluntarily  imposed,  when  it  can  not  be  produc- 
tive of  any  good? 


THE  FIGHT  AGAINST  ILLUSION    3S 

"Men  can  not  be  too  strongly  warned  against 
the  tendency  of  embellishing  everything  that 
concerns  the  heart-life,  and  this  is  the  inclina- 
tion of  most  people. 

"The  causes  of  this  propensity  are  many  and 
the  need  for  that  which  astounds  is  not  the 
only  cause  to  be  mentioned. 

"Indolence  is  never  a  stranger  to  illusion. 

"It  is  so  delightful  to  foresee  a  solution  which 
conforms  to  our  desires! 

"For  certain  natures,  stained  with  moral 
atrophy,  it  is  far  sweeter  to  hope  for  that  which 
will  be  produced  without  pain. 

"One  begins  by  accelerating  this  achievement, 
so  earnestly  desired,  by  using  all  the  will- 
power, and  one  becomes  accustomed  progressive- 
ly to  regard  desires  as  a  reality,  and,  aided  by  in- 
dolence, man  discounts  in  advance  an  easy 
success. 


<< 


False  enthusiasm,  or  rather  enthusiasm  with- 
out deliberate  reflection,  always  enters  into  these 
illusions,  which  are  accompanied  by  persuasicai 
and  never  combatted  by  common  sense. 

"Vanity  is  never  foreign  to  these  false  ideas, 
which  are  always  of  a  nature  to  flatter  one's 
amour  propre, 

"We  love  to  rejoice  beforehand  in  the  triumph 


34 


COMMON    SENSE 


which  we  believe  will  win  and,  aided  by  mental 
frivolity,  we  do  not  wish  to  admit  that  success 
can  be  doubted. 

'*The  dislike  of  making  an  effort,  however, 
would  quickly  conceal,  with  its  languishing 
voice,  the  wise  words  of  common  sense,  if  we 
would  listen  momentarily  to  them. 

*'And,  lastly,  it  is  necessary  to  consider 
credulity,  to  which,  in  our  opinion,  is  accorded 
a  place  infinitely  more  honorable  than  it  de- 
serves." 

And  now  the  sage,  Yoritomo,  establishes  the 
argument  which,  by  the  aid  of  common  sense, 
characterized  these  opinions. 

According  to  him,  '*It  does  not  belong  to  new 
and  vibrating  souls,  as  many  would  have  us  be- 
lieve. 

*'When  credulity  does  not  proceed  from  in- 
veterate stupidity,  it  is  always  the  result  of 
apathy  and  weakness. 

**Unhappiness  and  misfortune  attend  those 
who  are  voluntarily  feeble. 

''Their  defect  deprived  them  of  the  joy  de- 
rived from  happy  efforts.  They  wiU  be  the  prey 
of  duplicity  and  untruth. 

* '  They  are  the  vanquished  in  life,  and  scarcely 
deserve  the  pity  of  the  conqueror;  for  their 


THE  FIGHT  AGAINST  ILLUSION    35 

defeat  lacks  grandeur,  since  it  has  never  been 
aurioled  by  the  majestic  strength  of  conflict." 

Following  this,  the  Shogun  speaks  to  us  of 
those  whom  he  calls  the  ardent  seekers  after 
illusion. 

One  evening  he  related  the  following  story: 
"Some  men  started  off  for  an  island,  which  they 
perceived  in  the  distance. 

**It  looked  like  a  large,  detached  red  spot, 
amid  the  flaming  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  and 
the  men  told  of  a  thousand  wonders  about  this 
unknown  land,  as  yet  untrodden  by  the  foot  of 
man. 

''The  first  days  of  the  journey  were  delight- 
ful. The  oars  lay  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  un- 
touched, and  they  just  allowed  themselves  to 
drift  with  the  tide.  They  disembarked,  singing 
to  the  murmur  of  the  waters,  and  gathered  the 
fruits  growing  on  the  shores,  to  appease  their 
hunger. 

"But  the  stream,  which  was  bearing  them  on- 
ward, did  not  retain  long  its  limpidity  and 
repose ;  the  eddies  soon  entrapped  the  tiny  bark 
and  dragged  the  men  overboard. 

"Some,  looking  backward,  were  frightened  at 
the  thought  of  ascending  the  river,  which  had 
become  so  tempestuous. 


36 


COMMON    SENSE 


"Escaping  the  wreckage  of  the  boat  as  best 
they  could,  they  entrusted  themselves  again  to 
the  fury  of  the  waters. 

**They  had  to  suffer  from  cold  and  hunger, 
for  they  were  far  from  shore,  and  as,  in  their 
imagination,  the  island  was  very  near,  they  had 
neglected  to  furnish  themselves  with  the  necessi- 
ties of  life. 

''At  last,  after  the  fatigues  which  forethought 
would  have  prevented,  they  found  themselves  one 
evening,  at  sundown,  at  the  base  of  a  great  rock, 
bathed  in  the  rosy  light  of  the  departing  sun. 
*'This,  then,  was  the  island  of  their  dreams. 
**  Tired  out  and  exhausted  from  lack  of  food, 
they  had  only  the  strength  to  lie  down  upon  the 
inhospitable  rock,  there  to  die ! 

''The  disappearance  of  the  illusion,  having 
destroyed  their  courage  and  having  struck  them 
with  the  sword  of  despair,  the  rock  of  reality 
had  proved  destructive  of  their  bodies  and  souls. 
*  *  The  moral  of  this  story  easily  unfolds  itself. 
**If  the  seekers  after  illusions  had  admitted 
common  sense  to  their  deliberations,  they  would 
certainly  have  learned  to  know  the  nature  of 
the  enchanted  isle,  and  they  would  have  taken 
good  care  not  to  start  out  on  their  journey 
which  must  terminate  by  such  a  deception. 


f  1 


r, 


'1 


THE  FIGHT  AGAINST  ILLUSION   37 

'*  Would  they  not  have  taken  the  necessary 
precaution  to  prevent  all  the  delays  attendant 
upon  travels  of  adventure,  and  would  they  have 
entrusted  their  lives  to  so  frail  a  skiff,  if  they 
had  acquired  common  sense?" 

We  must  conclude,  with  Yoritomo,  that  illu- 
sion could  often  be  transformed  into  happy 
reality  if  it  were  better  understood,  and  if,  in- 
stead of  looking  upon  it  through  the  dreams 
of  our  imagination,  we  applied  ourselves  to  the 
task  of  eliminating  the  fluid  vapors  which  en- 
velop it,  that  we  might  clothe  it  anew  with  the 
garment  of  common  sense. 

Many  enterprises  have  been  considered  as  illu- 
sions because  we  have  neglected  to  awaken  the 
possibilities  which  lay  dormant  within  them. 

The  initial  thought,  extravagant  as  it  may  ap- 
pear, brings  with  it,  at  times,  facilities  of  reali- 
zation that  a  judgment  dictated  by  common 
sense  can  alone  make  us  appreciate. 

He  who  knows  how  to  keep  a  strict  watch 
over  himself  will  be  able  to  escape  the  causes  of 
disillusion,  which  lead  us  through  fatal  paths 
of  error,  to  the  brink  of  despair. 

*'That  which  is  above  all  to  be  shunned,"  said 
the  philosopher,  **is  the  encroachment  of  dis- 
couragement, the  result  of  repeated  failures. 


38 


COMMON   SENSE 


"Eare  are  tliose  who  wish  to  admit  their  mis- 
takes. 

*'In  the  structure  of  the  mind,  inaccuracy 
brings  a  partial  deviation  from  the  truth,  and 
it  does  not  take  long  for  this  slight  error  to 
generalize  itself,  if  not  corrected  by  its  natural 
reformer — common  sense. 

*'But  how  many,  among  those  who  suffer  from 
these  unhappy  illusions,  are  apt  to  recognize 
them  as  such  ? 

*'It  would,  however,  be  a  precious  thing  for 
us  to  admit  the  causes  which  have  led  us  to 
such  a  sorry  result,  by  never  permitting  them 
to  occur  again. 

* '  This  would  be  the  only  way  for  the  victims 
of  illusion  to  preserve  the  life  of  that  element  of 
success  and  happiness  known  as  hope. 

''Because  of  seeing  so  often  the  good  des- 
troyed, we  wish  to  believe  no  more  in  it  as  in- 
herent in  our  being,  and  rather  than  suffer  re- 
peatedly from  its  disappearance,  we  prefer  to 
smother  it  before  perfect  development. 

**The  greater  number  of  skeptics  are  only  the 
unavowed  lovers  of  illusion ;  their  desires,  never 
being  those  capable  of  realization,  they  have  lost 
the  habit  of  hoping  for  a  favorable  termination 
of  any  sentiment. 


THE  FIGHT  AGAINST  ILLUSION    39 

**The  lack  of  common  sense  does  not  allow 
them  to  understand  the  folly  of  their  enter- 
prise, and  rather  than  seek  the  causes  of  their 
habitual  failures,  they  prefer  to  attack  God  and 
man,  both  of  whom  they  hold  responsible  for 
all  their  unhappiness. 

**They  are  willingly  ironical,  easily  become 
pessimists,  and  villify  life,  without  desiring  to 
perceive  that  it  reserved  as  many  smiles  for 
them  as  the  happy  people  whom  they  envy. 

**A11  these  causes  of  disappointment  can  only 
be  attributed  to  the  lack  of  equilibrium  of  the 
reasoning  po\^er  and,  above  all,  to  the  absence 
of  common  sense,  hence  we  can  not  judge  of 
relative  values. 

**To  give  a  definite  course  to  the  plans  which 
we  form  is  to  prepare  the  happy  termination  of 
them. 

**This  is  also  the  way  to  banish  seductive 
illusion,  the  devourer  of  beautiful  ambitions 
and  youthful  aspirations." 

And,  with  his  habitual  sense  of  the  practical 
in  life,  Yoritomo  adds  the  following: 

"There  are,  however,  some  imaginations  which 
can  not  be  controlled  by  the  power  of  reasoning, 
and  which,  in  spite  of  everything,  escape  toward 
the  unlimited  horizons  of  the  dream. 


40 


COMMON    SENSE 


**It  would  be  in  vain  to  think  of  shutting 
them  up  in  the  narrow  prison  walls  of  strict 
reason;  they  would  die  wishing  to  attempt  an 
escape. 

**To  these  we  can  prescribe  the  dream  under 
its  most  august  form,  that  of  science. 

"Each  inventor  has  pursued  an  illusion,  but 
those  whose  names  have  lived  to  reach  our  rec- 
ognition, have  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  vertigi- 
nous course  they  were  following,  and  no  longer 
have  allowed  themselves  to  get  too  far  away 
from  their  base — science. 

**Yes,  illusion  can  be  beautiful,  on  condition 
that  it  is  not  constantly  debilitated. 

**To  make  it  beautiful  we  must  be  its  master, 
then  we  may  attempt  its  conquest. 

**It  is  thus  that  all  great  men  act;  before 
adopting  an  illusion,  as  truth,  they  have  assured 
themselves  of  the  means  by  the  aid  of  which 
they  were  permitted  first  to  hope  for  its  trans- 
formation and  afterward  be  certain  of  their 
power  to  discipline  it. 

**  Illusion  then  changes  its  name  and  becomes 
the  Ideal. 

**  Instead  of  remaining  an  inaccessible  myth, 
it  is  transformed  into  an  entity  for  the  creation 
of  good. 


w 


THE  FIGHT  AGAINST  ILLUSION    41 

**It  is  no  longer  the  effort  to  conquer  the  im- 
possible, which  endeavor  saps  our  vital  forces; 
it  is  a  contingency  which  study  and  common 
sense  strip  of  all  aleatory  principles,  in  order 
to  give  a  form  which  becomes  more  tangible  and 
more  definite  every  day. 

*'We  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  sterile 
efforts  toward  gaining  an  object -which  fades 
from  view  and  disappears  as  one  approaches  it. 

*  *  It  is  no  longer  the  painful  reaching  out  after 
an  object  always  growing  more  indistinct  as  we 
draw  near  it. 

"It  is  through  conscious  and  unremitting 
effort  that  we  attain  the  happy  expression  of 
successful  endeavor  and  realize  the  best  in  life, 
for  slow  ascension  in  winning  this  best  leaves 
no  room  for  satiety  in  this  noble  strife. 

"We  must  pity  those  who  live  for  an  illusion 
as  well  as  those  whose  imagination  has  not 
known  how  to  create  an  ideal,  whose  beauty 
illumines  their  efforts. 

"It  is  the  triumph  of  common  sense  to  accom- 
plish this  transformation  and  to  banish  empty 
reveries,  replacing  them  by  creating  a  desire 
for  the  best,  which  each  one  can  satisfy — ^without 
destroying  it. 

"The  day  when  this  purpose  is  accomplished. 


!»l 


42 


COMMON    SENSE 


illusion,  definitely  conquered,  will  cease  to  haunt 
the  mind  of  those  whom  common  sense  has  illu- 
mined ;  vagaries  will  make  place  for  reason  and 
terrible  disillusion  will  follow  its  chief  (whose 
qualities  never  rise  above  mediocrity)  into  his 
retreat,  and  allow  the  flower  of  hope  to  blossom 
in  the  souls  already  filled  with  peace— that 
quality  which  is  bom  of  reason  and  common 


sense. 


99 


LESSON  m 


1 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE 
REASONING  POWER 

When  reading  certain  passages  in  the  manu- 
scripts of  Yoritomo,  one  is  forcibly  reminded  of 
the  familiar  phrase:  ''Nothing  is  definitely  fin- 
ished among  men,  for  each  thing  stops  only  to 
begin  again." 

He  says,  "That  many  centuries  before  the 
great  minds  constructed  altars  to  the  goddess  of 
Reason,  they  were  in  search  of  a  divinity  to 
replace  the  one  they  had  just  destroyed. 

"If  it  were  proposed  to  me  to  build  temples 
which  would  synthesize  my  devotion  with  cer- 
tain sentiments,  my  desire  would  be  that  those 
dedicated  to  the  Will  and  to  Reason  should  domi- 
nate all  others,  for  then  they  would  be  under 
the  protection  of  powers  for  good,'' 

In  a  few  pages  further  on  he  insists  again 
and  again  upon  the  necessity  of  developing  the 
worship  of  reason. 

"Reasoning,"  he  continues,  "is  a  divinity, 

43 


44 


COMMON   SENSE 


around  which  gravitate  a  whole  world  of  gods, 
important  but  inferior  to  it 

*' Among  this  people  of  these  idols,  so  justly- 
revered,  there  is  one  god  which  occupies  a  place 
apart  from  the  others. 

**This  god  is  Common  Sense,  which  gave  birth 
to  Eeason,  and  has  always  been  its  faithful  com- 
panion. 

*at  is,  in  reality,  the  controlling  force  exer- 
cising its  power  to  guard  reason  against  the 
predominating  character  and  nefarious  tenden- 
cies created  by  self-interest. 

"Common  sense  compels  reason  to  admit 
principles  whose  justice  it  has  already  recog- 
nized, and,  at  the  same  time,  incites  reason  to 
reject  those  whose  absurdity  it  has  demonstrated. 

**  Common  sense  allies  itself  with  reason,  in 
order  to  make  that  selection  of  ideas  which  per- 
sonal interest  can  either  set  aside  entirely  or 
modify  by  illogical  inference. 

**Keason  obeys  certain  laws,  all  of  which  can 
be  united  in  one  sentiment — common  sense." 

This  statement  could  be  illustrated  symboli- 
cally by  comparing  its  truth  to  a  fan,  whose 
blades  converge  toward  a  central  point  where 

they  remain  fixt. 
Applying  the  precept  to  the  picture,  the  old 


THE  REASONING  POWER         45 

Shogun  gives  the  design  which  we  are  faith- 
fully copying. 

'*In  this  ideal  fan,"  explains  Yoritomo,  ''not 
only   the   true    reproduction    of   the   qualities 


directing  the  progress  of  knowledge  must  be  per- 
ceived,  but  the  symbol  of  their  development  must 
be  traced. 

*'A11  of  these  qualities  are  born  of  common 
sense,  to  which  they  are  closely  allied,  unfold- 
ing and  disclosing  a  luminous  radiance. 

''Altho  each  one  may  have  its  autonomy,  they 
never  separate,  and,  even  as  a  fan  from  which 
one  blade  has  disappeared  can  only  remain  an 
imperfect  object  little  to  be  desired,  even  so, 


46 


COMMON   SENSE 


the  symbolic  fan  of  reasoning,  when  it  does  not 
unite  all  the  required  qualities,  becomes  a  muti- 
lated power,  which  can  only  betray  the  destiny 
originally  attributed  to  it. 

''Consequently,  starting  from  common  sense 
as  the  central  point  of  reasoning,  we  find,  first, 
perception. 

*'This  is  the  action  by  which  exterior  things 
are  brought  near  to  us. 

''Perception  is  essentially  visual  and  auditory, 
altho  it  influences  all  our  senses. 

"For  example,  the  fact  of  tasting  a  fruit  is 
a  perception. 

"The  seeing  of  a  landscape  is  equally  one. 

"The  hearing  of  a  song  is  also  a  perception. 

"In  a  word,  everything  which  presents  itself 
to  us,  coming  in  contact  with  one  of  our  senses, 
is  a  perception;  otherwise,  the  inception  of  an 

idea. 

"This  is  the  first  degree  of  reasoning. 

"Immediately  following  is  memory,  without 
which  nothing  could  be  proved. 

"It  is  memory,  which,  by  renewing  the  motive 
power  of  reason,  allows  us  to  judge  of  the  pro- 
portion of  things,  grasped  by  the  senses  in  the 
present  as  related  to  those  which  come  to  us 
from  the  past 


THE   REASONING  POWER         4T 

"Without  memory  it  would  be  impossible  to 
make  a  mental  comparison. 

**It  would  be  most  difficult  to  determine  the 
true  nature  of  an  event,  announced  by  per- 
ception, if  an  analogous  sensation,  previously 
experienced,  had  not  just  permitted  us  to 
classify  it  by  close  examination  or  by  differen- 
tiating it. 

"Memory  is  a  partial  resurrection  of  a  past 
life,  whose  reconstruction  has  just  permitted  us 
to  attribute  a  true  value  to  the  phases  of  exist- 
ence. 

"It  is  in  preserving  the  memory  of  things 
that  we  are  called  upon  to  compare  them  and 
then  to  judge  of  them. 

"Thought  is  produced  immediately  after  per- 
ception, and  the  recollection,  very  often  auto-^ 
matic,  that  it  creates  within  us. 

"It  is  the  inception  of  the  idea  which  it  en- 
genders by  a  series  of  results. 

"Thought  permits  the  mind  to  exercise  its. 
judgment  without  allowing  itself  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  the  greatness  or  humility  of  the  idea. 

"By  virtue  of  corresponding  recollections,  it 
will  associate  the  present  perception  with  the 
past  representations,  and  will  take  an  extension, 
more  or  less  pronounced,  according  to  the  degree. 


V.4 


48 


COMMON    SENSE 


<< 


<i, 


of  intellectiiality  of  the  thinker,  and  according 
to  the  importance  of  the  object  of  its  reflections. 
But  rarely  does  the  idea  present  itself  alone. 
One  thought  almost  always  produces  the 
manifestation  of  similar  thoughts,  which  group 
themselves  around  the  first  idea  as  birds  of  the 
same  race  direct  their  flight  toward  the  same 
country. 

**  Thought  is  the  manifestation  of  the  intel- 
lectual life ;  it  palpitates  in  the  brain  of  men  as 
does  the  heart  in  the  breast. 

**It  is  thought  which  distinguishes  men  from 
animals,  who  have  only  instinct  to  guide  them. 

'*It  can  be  admitted,  however,  that  this  in- 
stinct is  a  kind  of  obscure  thought  for  these  in-, 
ferior  beings,  from  which  reflection  is  elimi- 
nated, or,  at  least,  reveals  itself  only  as  a  vassal 
of  material  appetite. 

**But  with  creatures  who  have  intelligence, 
thought  is  a  superior  faculty,  which  aids  the  soul 
to  free  itself  from  the  bondage  of  vulgar  and 
limited  impressions. 

'*When  perception,  memory,  and  thought 
unite  to  form  judgment,  activity  of  mind  will 
become  necessary,  in  order  to  accelerate  the  pro- 
duction of  ideas  in  extending  the  field  of 
imagination. 


)i 


THE  REASONING  POWER         49 

"Moral  inertia  is  the  most  deplorable  of  aU 
defects;  it  retards  intellectual  growth  and 
hinders  the  development  of  personality. 

''It  is,  in  this  understanding,  the  enemy  of 
common  sense,  for  it  will  admit  voluntarily  a 
reasoning  power,  existing  per  se,  rather  than 
make  the  necessary  effort  which  will  set  free 
the  truth  and  constitute  an  individual  opinion. 

''Vulgarity  is,  then,  almost  always  the  sign 
of  mental  sloth. 

"It  is  not  infrequent  to  see  a  mind  of  real 
capacity  fall  into  error,  where  an  intelligence 
of  mediocre  caliber  asserts  its  efficiency.  In- 
difference is  the  most  serious  obstacle  to  the  at- 
tainment of  judgment. 

"Common  sense  demands  a  keen  alertness  of 
understanding,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  a  re- 
flection which  appears  at  times  slow  of  action, 
but  which  is  long  in  being  manifested  only  be- 
cause of  the  desire  to  surround  itself  by  all  the 
guaranties  of  truth  concerning  the  object  in 
question. 

"The  fifth  blade  of  the  fan  is  the  quality  of 
deduction— the  most  solid  basis  for  the  judg- 
ments  which  are  formed  by  common  sense. 

"By  deduction  we  are  able  to  solve  all  rel- 
ative questions  with  perfect  accuracy. 


50 


COMMON    SENSE 


**It  is  I)y  abstracting  reckless  contingencies, 
and  by  relying  only  upon  the  relativeness  of 
facts,  that  we  can  succeed  in  discovering  the 
truth  that  there  are  too  many  representations 
as  to  these  facts. 

**  Deduction  is  the  great  support  of  mental 
weakness.  It  helps  in  discerning  proportions, 
possibilities,  even  as  it  helps  in  skilfully  avoiding 
the  fear  of  error." 

We  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  more  at 
length  of  deduction,  for  Yoritomo  devotes  many 
pages  to  it.  We  shall,  then,  defer  to  a  future 
chapter  the  interesting  developments  that  he 
discloses  on  this  subject,  and  we  shall  continue 
to  study  the  fan  of  common  sense  with  him. 

*' Foresight,''  he  continues,  *'is  rightly  looked 
upon  as  one  of  the  indispensable  elements  in 
cultivating  common  sense. 

**The  faculty  of  foresight  always  accompanies 
common  sense,  in  order  to  strengthen  its  quali- 
ties of  skill  and  observation. 

*'One  must  not  confound,  as  many  people  are 
tempted  to  do,  foresight  and  conjecture. 

**The  first  consists  in  taking  great  care  to 
prevent  the  repetition  of  unhappy  facts  which 
have  already  existed. 

**  Foresight  will  exert  an  influence  on  future 


THE   REASONING  POWER 


51 


events  by  establishing  an  analogy  between  them 
and  the  actual  incidents  which,  of  necessity, 
will  lead  to  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  present 
projects. 

**It  is  to  be  observed  that  all  these  faculties 
are  subordinate,  one  to  the  other,  and,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  unfolding  of  the  fan,  we  can  prove 
that  all  the  blades  previously  mentioned  have 
concurred  in  the  formation  of  the  blade  of  which 
we  are  now  speaking. 

**In  order  to  foresee  disasters  it  is  necessary 
that  the  perception — ^visual  or  auditory — of  said 
disasters  should  already  have  imprest  us. 

**We  have  kept  intact  the  memory  of  them, 
since  it  is  reconstructed  emotion  which  guides 
our  thoughts. 

**  These  same  thoughts,  in  extending  them- 
selves, form  groups  of  thoughts  harmonious  in 
character,  all  relative  to  the  one,  which  is  the 
object  of  the  debate. 

**Our  mind  becomes  more  active  in  recalling 
the  incidents,  the  remembrance  of  which  marks 
the  time  which  has  elapsed  between  the  old 
perception  and  the  present  state  of  mental 
absorption. 

**The  faculty  of  deduction,  which  is  born  of 
these  diiferent  mental  conflicts,  permits  me  to 


ii 


52 


COMMON    SENSE 


I 


foresee  that  circumstances  of  the  same  nature 
will  lead  to  others  similar  to  those  we  have  al- 
ready mentioned. 

**We  have  merely  sketched  rapidly  the  scale 
of  sensations  which  follow  each  other,  in  order 
to  reach  the  explanation  of  how  foresight  is 
formed,  this  faculty  of  which  we  are  now  speak- 
ing. 

*'By  assimilating  these  present  facts  with 
those  of  the  past,  we  are  permitted  to  draw  a 
conclusion,  relating  to  the  same  group  of  re- 
sults, because  of  the  conformity  of  those  past 
facts  to  the  present  questions. 

** Foresight  is  passive;  between  it  and  pre- 
caution there  is  the  same  difference  as  between 
theory  and  practise. 

**  Precaution  is  preeminently  active,  and  it 
marks  its  first  appearance  by  means  of  foresight, 
but  does  not  stop  in  this  effort  until  it  has  ren- 
dered foresight  productive. 

'*It  is  well  to  foresee,  but  it  is  precious  to 
preclude. 

**The  second  part  of  the  act  of  precaution 
can,  however,  only  be  accomplished  after  having 
permitted  the  brain  to  register  the  thoughts 
which  determine  the  first  part  of  this  act." 

In  order  to  understand  this  very  subtle  differ- 


THE   REASONING   POWER         63 

ence,  but  very  important  one,  which  classifies 
these  two  sentiments,  the  old  sage  gives  us  the 
following  example : 

''Let  us  suppose,"  he  says,  ''that,  on  a  beauti- 
ful day  in  spring,  a  man  starts  out  for  an  ex- 
cursion which  will  last  until  the  dawn  of  the 
following  day. 

"If  he  has  common  sense,  he  will  say  to  him- 
self that  the  sun  will  not  be  shining  at  the  time 
of  his  return,  that  the  nights  of  spring  are  cold, 
and  that  this  one  will  be  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

"This  is  foresight. 

"If  common  sense,  with  all  its  consequences, 
takes  possession  of  him,  it  will  increase  his  power 
of  reasoning.  He  will  think  that,  in  order  to 
avoid  suffering  from  the  change  of  temperature, 
it  would  be  well  to  cover  himself  with  a  cloak. 

"And,  even  tho  the  sun  shone,  he  would  not 
hesitate  to  furnish  himself  with  this  accessory, 
which   in   fact  will   render  him   the   greatest 

service. 

"This  is  precaution. 

"This  quality  is  indispensable  to  the  forma- 
tion of  the  reasoning  power ;  for,  in  addition  to 
the  necessity  of  foreseeing  certain  results,  it 
permits  also  of  directing  their  course,  if  it  be 
impossible  to  exempt  them  completely. 


54i 


COMMON    SENSE 


((■ 


'Reasoning  is  the  art  of  developing,  to  the 
highest  degree,  the  suppositions  resulting  from 
deduction. 

**One  is  usually  mistaken  as  to  the  exact 
meaning  of  the  words  ^to  reason/  and  people 
seldom  attach  the  importance  to  them  which 
they  should. 

**One  is  apt  to  think  that  the  gift  of  reason- 
ing is  bestowed  upon  every  one. 

'^Perhaps;  but  to  reason,  following  the  prin- 
ciples of  justice  and  truth,  is  an  operation 
which  can  only  be  performed  by  minds  endowed 
with  common  sense. 

**In  order  to  arrive  at  this  result,  it  is  essen- 
tial to  impress  upon  oneself  the  value  of  the 
words,  *to  deduct  accurately,'  after  having  pro- 
duced the  radiation  of  thoughts  which  depend 
upon  the  object  in  question,  and  to  foresee  the 
consequences  of  the  facts  that  a  resolution  could 
determine. 

**  Above  all,  to  avoid  contentment  with  the 
approximate,  which  conceals  many  pitfalls  under 
false  appearances. 

**  Without  permitting  oneself  to  express  use- 
less trivialities,  not  to  nejrlect  to  become  im- 
pregnated with  those  axioms  which  have  been 
rightfully  baptized,  *  wisdom  of  nations.' 


' 


I 


THE   REASONING  POWER         55 

**They  are  generally  based  on  a  secular  obser- 
vation, and  are  the  product  of  many  gener- 
ations. 

*'It  would  be  puerile  to  attach  vital  import- 
ance to  them,  but  one  would  surely  regret  having 
entirely  scorned  their  counsel. 

**Too  much  erudition  is  at  times  detrimental 
to  reason,  based  on  common  sense.  Altho  fully 
appreciating  science,  and  devoting  serious  study 
to  it,  one  would  do  well  to  introduce  the  human 
element  into  his  knowledge. 

**  There  are  some  essential  truths  which  modify 
daily  life  without,  for  this  reason,  lessening 
their  importance. 

**Some  of  them  are  of  premature  develop- 
ment; others  are  of  miniature  growth. 

'*To  reason  without  offending  common  sense, 
it  is,  therefore,  indispensable  to  consider  time, 
place,  environment,  and  all  the  contingencies 
which  could  arise  to  undermine  the  importance 
of  reasoning.'* 

After  having  reviewed  all  these  phases,  we 
shall  then  extend,  in  accord  with  Yoritomo,  the 
last  blade  of  this  rudimentary  fan,  and  we  shall 
find  judgment. 

*  *  This  one  is  the  index  to  that  quality  of  mind 

called  conviction. 


56 


COMMON    SENSE 


"This  mental  operation  consists  in  drawing 
together  many  ideas  that  their  relative  char- 
acteristics may  be  determined. 

**This  operation  takes  the  place  contiguous  to 
reasoniQg,  of  which  it  is  the  result. 

''Judgment  determines  its  character  after 
having  registered  the  reasons  which  ought  to 
indicate  its  position;  it  deducts  the  conclusions 
imposed  by  the  explanatory  principle,  and  classi- 
fies the  idea  by  submitting  it  to  the  valuation 
placed  upon  it  by  judgment. 

-'All  judgment  is  either  affirmative  or  nega- 
tive. 

**It  can  never  be  vascillating  nor  neutral. 

*'In  this  last  case  it  will  assume  the  title  of 
opinion,  and  will  attribute  to  itself  the  definite 
qualities  which  characterize  judgment. 

**It  is,  however,  at  times  subjected  to  certain 
conditions,  where  the  principles  on  which  it 
is  based  are  not  sufficiently  defined,  and,  there- 
fore, becomes  susceptible  to  a  change,  either  of 
form  or  of  nature. 

'*It  is  possible,  without  violating  the  laws  of 
common  sense,  to  establish  a  judgment  whose 
terms  will  be  modified  by  the  mutation  of  causes. 

*'But  common  sense  demands  that  these  dif- 
ferent influences  should  be  foreseen,  and  that 


THE   REASONING  POWER 


b^ 


these  eventualities  should  be  mentioned  when 
pronouncing  the  judgment." 

We  have  reached  the  last  blade  of  the  sym- 
bolic fan,  described  by  the  philosopher,  for  many 
secondary  qualities  may  be  placed  between  the 
principle  blades. 

But  faithful  to  his  explanatory  method,  he 
wished  to  indicate  to  us  the  broad  lines  first, 
and  also  to  state  the  indispensable  faculties  con- 
stituting common  sense,  by  teaching  us  their 
progression  and  development. 

He  desired  to  demonstrate  to  us  also  how 
mueh  all  these  qualities  would  be  lessened  in 
value  if  they  were  not  united  and  bound  to- 
gether in  the  order  in  which  they  ought  to 
manifest  themselves. 

**We  have  all  possest,"  said  he,  "some  fans 
whose  point  of  reunion  was  destroyed  in  part 
or  altogether  lost. 

"What  becomes  of  it,  then? 

"During  a  certain  length  of  time,  always 
rather  short,  the  blades,  after  having  remained 
bound  together  by  the  thread  which  holds  them, 
separate,  when  it  is  severed  because  of  the  lack 
of  harmony  and  of  equilibrium  at  their  base. 

"Very  soon,  one  blade  among  them  detaches 
itself,  and  the  mutilated  fan  takes  its  place  in 


58  COMMON    SENSE 

the  cemetery  where  sleep  those  things  deteri- 
orated because  of  old  age  or  disuse. 

**It  is  the  same  with  the  qualities  which  we 
have  just  enumerated.  As  long  as  they  remain 
attached  to  their  central  point,  which  is  com- 
mon sense,  they  stand  erect,  beautiful  and  strong, 
concurring  in  the  fertilization  of  our  minds,  and 
in  creating  peace  in  our  lives. 

*'But  if  the  point  of  contact  ceases  to  main- 
tain them,  to  bind  them  together,  to  forbid  their 
separating,  we  shall  soon  see  them  fall  apart 
after  having  escaped  from  the  temporary  pro- 
tection of  the  secondary  qualities. 

*'For  a  while  we  seek  to  evoke  them;  but 
recognizing  the  ruse  existing  in  their  commands, 
we  shall  soon  be  the  first  to  abandon  them,  in 
order  to  harmonize  our  favors  with  the  deceptive 
mirage  of  the  illusions;  at  least,  if  we  do  not 
allow  ourselves  to  be  tempted  by  f aUacious  argu- 
ments of  vanity. 

**In  the  one  as  in  the  other  case,  we  shall  be- 
come, then,  the  prey  of  error  and  ignorance,  for 
common  sense  is  the  intelligence  of  truth." 


! 


LESSON  IV 

COMMON    SENSE    AND    IMPULSE 

Impulsive  people  are  those  who  allow  them- 
selves to  be  guided  by  their  initial  impressions 
and  make  resolutions  or  commit  acts  under  the 
domination  of  a  special  consciousness  into  which 
perception  has  plunged  them. 

Impulse  is  a  form  of  cerebral  activity  which 
forces  us  to  make  a  movement  before  the  mind 
is  able  to  decide  upon  it  by  means  of  reflection 
or  reasoning.  The  Shogun  deals  with  it  at 
length  and  defines  it  thus : 

**  Impulse  is  an  almost  direct  contact  between 
perception  and  result. 

''Memory,  thought,  deduction,  and,  above  all, 
reason  are  absolutely  excluded  from  these  acts, 
which  are  never  inspired  by  intellectuality. 

"The  impression  received  by  the  brain  is  im- 
mediately transmuted  into  an  act,  similar  to 
those  acts  which  depend  entirely  on  automatic 
memory. 

"It  is  certain  in  making  a  series  of  move- 
ments, which  compose  the  act  of  walking  up- 

59 


60 


COMMON    SENSE 


stairs  or  the  action  of  walking  from  one  place 
to  another,  we  do  not  think  of  analyzing  our 
efforts  and  this  act  of  walking  almost  limits 
itself  to  an  organic  function,  so  little  does 
thought  enter  into  its  composition. 

**In  the  case  of  repeated  impulses,  it  can  be 
absolutely  affirmed  that  substance  is  the  ante- 
cedent and  postulate  of  the  essence  of  being. 

**  Substance  comprises  all  corporal  material- 
ities :  instinctive  needs,  irrational  movements,  in 
a  word,  all  actions  where  common  sense  is  not 
a  factor. 

''Essence  is  that  imponderable  part  of  being 
which  includes  the  soul,  the  mind,  the  intelli- 
gence, in  fact  the  entire  mentality. 

*'It  is  this  last  element  of  our  being  which 
poetizes  our  thoughts,  classifies  them,  and  leads 
us  to  common  sense,  by  means  of  reasoning 
and  judgment. 

**He  who,  having  received  an  injury  from  his 
superior,  replies  to  it  at  once  by  corresponding 
affront,  is  absolutely  sure  to  become  the  victim 
of  his  impulses. 

**It  is  only  when  his  act  is  consummated,  that 
he  will  thini  of  the  consequences  which  it  can 
entail;  the  loss  of  his  employment  first,  then 
corporal  punishment,  in  severity  according  to 


! 


f- 


COMMON  SENSE  AND  IMPULSE    61 

the  gravity  of  the  offense ;  lastly,  misery,  perhaps 
the  result  of  forced  inactivity. 

**0n  the  contrary,  the  man  endowed  with 
common  sense  will  reflect  in  a  flash,  by  recalling 
all  the  different  phases  which  we  have  described. 
His  intelligence,  being  appealed  to,  will  repre- 
sent to  him  the  consequences  of  a  violent  action. 

**He  will  find,  in  common  sense,  the  strength 
not  to  respond  to  an  injury  at  once ;  but  will  not 
forego  the  right,  however,  of  avenging  himself 
under  the  guise  of  a  satisfaction  which  will  be 
all  the  more  easily  accorded  to  him  as  his  moder- 
ation will  not  fail  to  make  an  impression  in  his 
favor." 

"There  is,  between  common  sense  and  im- 
pulse," says  Yoritomo,  **the  difference  that  one 
would  find  between  two  coats,  one  of  which  was 
bought  ready-made,  while  the  other,  after  being 
cut  according  to  the  proportions  of  the  one  who 
is  to  wear  it,  was  sewed  by  a  workman  to  whom 
all  the  resources  of  his  art  are  known." 

If  impulses  adopt  the  same  character  for  every 
one,  common  sense  adapts  itself  to  the  mind,  to 
the  sensitiveness,  to  the  worth  of  him  who  prac- 
tises it ;  it  is  a  garment  which  is  adjusted  to  the 
proportions  of  its  owner,  and,  according  to  his 
taste,  is  elaborate  or  simple. 


I 


6S 


COMMON   SENSE 


Certain  people  have  a  tendency  to  confound 
intuition  and  impulse. 

These  two  things,  really  very  different  in  es- 
sence, are  only  related  by  spontaneity  of 
thought  which  gives  them  birth. 

But  whereas  intuition,  a  sensation  altogether 
moral,  concisely  stated,  is  composed  of  mental 
speculations,  impulses  always  resolve  themselves 
into  acts  and  resolutions  to  act. 

Intuition  is  a  sort  of  obscure  revelation,  which 
reason  controls  only  after  its  formation. 

Impulse  never  engages  common  sense  in  the 
achievements  which  it  realizes.  It  never  de- 
cides upon  them  in  advance,  and  almost  always 
engenders  regrets. 

It  is  the  result  of  a  defeat  in  self-control, 
which  will-power  and  the  power  of  reasoning 

alone  can  correct. 

Intuition  is  less  spontaneous  than  impulse. 

It  is  a  very  brief  mental  operation,  but,  never- 
theless, very  real,  which,  very  indistinctly, 
touches  lightly  all  the  phases  of  reasoning,  in 
order  to  reach  a  conclusion  so  rapidly  that  he 
who  conceives  it  has  difficulty  in  making  the 
transformations  of  the  initial  thought  intelli- 
gible. 

It  is  none  the  less  true  that  ntuition  is  always 


COMMON  SENSE  AND  IMPULSE     63 


inspired  by  a  predicted  reflection,  but,  in  spite 
of  this  fact,  an  existing  reflection. 

Impulse,  on  the  contrary,  only  admits  instinct 
as  its  source  of  existence. 

It  is  the  avowed  enemy  of  common  sense, 
which  counsels  the  escape  from  exterior  insinu- 
ations that  one  may  concentrate,  in  order  to 
listen  to  the  voice  which  dictates  to  us  the  ab- 
stinence from  doing  anything  until  after  making 
a  complete  analysis  of  the  cause  which  agitates 
us. 

Som?  philosophers  have  sought  to  rank  in- 
spiration under  the  flag  of  impulse,  which  they 
thought  to  defend;  yes,  even  to  recover  esteem 
under  this  new  form. 

**We  should  know  how  to  stand  on  guard," 
says  Yoritomo,  *^ against  this  fatal  error.'* 

*^ Inspiration,'*  says  he,  '*is  rarely  immobilized 
under  the  traits  which  characterized  its  first  ap- 
pearance. 

'*  Before  expressing  itself  in  a  work  of  art  or 
of  utility,  it  was  the  embryo  of  that  which  it 
must  afterward  personify. 

**The  ancients  when  relating  that  a  certain 
divinity  sprang,  fully  armed,  from  the  head  of 
a  god,  accredited  this  belief  to  instantaneous 
creation. 

V.6 


64 


COMMON    SENSE 


a 


If  musicians,  painters,  poets,  and  inventors 
want  to  be  sincere,  they  will  agree  that,  be- 
tween the  thought  which  they  qualify  as  in- 
spiration, and  its  tangible  realization,  a  ladder 
of  transformations  has  been  constructed,  and 
that  it  is  only  by  progressive  steps  that  they 
have  attained  what  seemed  to  them  the  nearest 
to  perfection." 

Impulse,  then,  is  only  distantly  related  to  in- 
spiration and  intuition. 

Let  us  add  that  these  gifts  are  very  often  only 
the  fruit  of  an  unconscious  mental  effort,  and 
that,  most  of  the  time,  the  thoughts,  which  in 
good  faith  one  accepts  as  inspiration  or  in- 
tuition, are  only  nameless  reminiscences,  whose 
apparition  coincides  with  an  emotional  state  of 
being,  which  existed  at  the  time  of  the  first 
perception. 

There,  again,  the  presence  of  reasoning  is 
visible,  and  also  the  presence  of  common  sense, 
which  tries  to  convert  into  a  work  of  lasting 
results  those  impressions  which  would  probably 
remain  unproductive  without  the  aid  of  these, 
two  faculties. 

Impulses  are,  most  of  the  time,  the  vassals  of 
material  sensations. 

Definite  reasoning  and  impartial  judgment, 


COMMON  SENSE  AND  IMPULSE     65 

inspired  by  common  sense,  are  rarely  the  posses- 
sion of  a  sick  man. 

Sufferings,  in  exposing  him  to  melancholy, 
make  him  see  things  in  a  defective  light;  the 
effort  of  thinking  fatigues  his  weak  brain,  and 
the  fear  of  a  resolution  which  would  force  him 
to  get  out  of  his  inactivity  has  enormous  in- 
fluence upon  the  deductions  which  dictate  his 

judgment. 

Before  discussing  the  advantages  of  conflict, 
he  will  instinctively  resign  himself  to  inertia. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  his  temperament  disposes 
him  to  anger,  he  will  compromise  an  under- 
taking by  a  spontaneous  violence,  which  patience 
and  reflection  would  otherwise  have  made  suc- 
cessful. It  is  possible  also  that  a  valiant  soul  is 
unable  to  obey  a  weak  body,  and  that  instinct, 
awakened  by  fear,  leads  one  on  to  the  impulsive 
desires  of  activity. 

Inadequate  food  or  excessive  nourishment 
can  produce  impulses  of  a  different  nature,  but 
these  differences  are  wholly  and  completely  dis- 
tinct as  to  character. 

The  most  evident  danger  of  impulses  lies  in 
the  scattering  of  mental  forces,  which,  being  too 
frequently  called  upon,  use  themselves  up  with- 
out benefiting  either  reason  or  common  sense. 


66 


COMMON    SENSE 


The  habit  of  indulging  in  movements  dictated 
only  by  instinct,  in  suppressing  all  the  phases  of 
judgment  leaves  infinitely  more  latitude  to 
caprice,   which  exists  at  the  expense  of  solid 

judgment. 

Perception,  being  related  to  that  which  in- 
terests our  passions,  by  getting  in  direct  contact 
with  the  action  which  should  simply  be  derived 
from  a  deduction,  inspired  by  common  sense, 
multiplies  the  unreflected  manifestations  and 
produces  waste  of  the  forces,  which  should  be 
concentrated  on  a  central  point,  after  having 
passed  through  all  the  phases  of  which  we  have 

spoken. 

In  addition,  the  permanency  of  resolutions  is 

unknown  to  impulsive  people. 

Their  tendency,  by  leading  them  on  toward 
instantaneous  solutions,  allows  them  to  ignore 
the  benefits  of  consistency. 

''They  are  like  unto  a  peasant,"  said  the  old 
Nippon,  ''who  owned  a  field  in  the  country  of 
Tokio.  Scarcely  had  he  begun  to  sow  a  part  of 
the  field  when,  under  the  influence  of  an  un- 
happy impulse,  he  plowed  up  the  earth  again 
in  order  to  sow  the  ground  with  a  new  seed. 

"If  he  heard  any  one  speak  of  any  special 
new  method  of  cultivation,  he  only  tried  it  for 


COMMON  SENSE  AND  IMPULSE     67 

a  short  while,  and  then  abandoned  it,  to  try  an- 
other way. 

"He  tried  to  cultivate  rice;  then,  before  the 
time  for  harvesting  it,  he  became  enthusiastic 
for  the  cultivation  of  chrysanthemums,  which  he 
abandoned  very  soon  in  order  to  plant  trees, 
whose  slow  development  incited  him  to  change 
his  nursery  into  a  field  of  wheat. 

* '  He  died  in  misery,  a  victim  of  hishaving  scorn- 
ed the  power  of  consistency  and  common  sense." 
Now  Yoritomo,  after  having  put  us  on  our 
guard  against  impulses,  shows  us  the  way  to 
conquer  these  causes  of  disorder. 

"To  control  unguarded  movements,  which 
place  us  on  a  level  with  inferior  beings.  That 
is,"  said  he  "in  making  us  dependent  on  one 
instinct  alone.  This  is,"  said  he,  "to  take 
the  first  step  toward  the  will  to  think,  which  is 
one  of  the  forms  of  common  sense. 

"In  order  to  reach  this  point,  the  first  resolu- 
tion to  make  is  to  escape  from  the  tyranny  of 
the  body,  which  tends  to  replace  the  intellectual 
element  in  impulsive  people. 

"When  I  was  still  under  the  instruction  of 
my  preceptor,  Lang-Ho,  I  saw  him  cure  a  man 
who  was  affected  with  what  he  called  *The 
Malady  of  the  First  Impulse.' 


68 


COMMON    SENSE 


**  Whether  it  concerned  good  actions  or  repre- 
hensible ones,  this  man  always  acted  without  the 
least  reflection. 

**To  launch  a  new  enterprise,  which  the  most 
elementary  common  sense  condemned,  he  gave 
the  greater  part  of  his  fortune  in  a  moment  of 
enthusiasm. 

**He  allowed  himself  to  commit  acts  of  vio- 
lence which  taught  him  severe  lessons. 

''Finally,  vexed  beyond  measure,  dissatisfied 
with  himself  and  others,  he  so  brutally  mal- 
treated a  high  dignitary  in  a  moment  of  violent 
anger  that  the  latter  sent  for  him  that  he  might 
punish  him.  Learning  of  this,  the  man,  crazy 
with  rage,  rushed  out  of  his  house  in  order  to  kill 
the  prince  with  his  own  hand. 

**It  was  in  this  paroxysm  of  passion  that  my 
master  met  him.  Like  all  impulsive  people,  he 
was  full  of  his  subject,  and,  joining  the  per- 
ception of  the  insult  to  the  judgment  of  it,  which 
his  instinct  had  immediately  dictated  to  him,  he 
did  not  conceal  his  murderous  intentions. 

*'My  master,  by  means  of  a  strategy,  succeeded 
in  dissuading  him  from  accomplishing  his  re- 
venge that  day.  He  persuaded  him  that  the 
prince  was  absent  and  would  only  return  to 
town  upon  the  following  day. 


■ 

I 


COMMON  SENSE  AND  IMPULSE    69 

**The  man  believed  him,  and  allowed  himself 
to  be  taken  to  the  house  of  Lang-Ho. 

*'But  it  was  in  vain  that  Lang-Ho  unfolded 
all  his  most  subtle  arguments.  Neither  the  fear 
of  punishment,  nor  the  hope  of  pardon,  could 
conquer  the  obstinacy  which  can  always  be  ob- 
served in  impulsive  people  when  their  resolution 
has  not  accomplished  its  purpose. 

'*It  was  then  that  my  master  employed  a  ruse, 
whose  fantastic  character  brings  a  smile,  but 
which,  however,  demonstrates  a  profound  knowl- 
edge of  the  human  heart  when  acting  under  the 
influence  of  common  sense. 

''During  the  sleep  of  his  guest,  Lang-Ho  took 
off  his  robe,  replacing  it  by  a  garment  made  of 
two  materials.  One  was  golden  yellow,  the  other  a 
brilliant  green.  After  attacks  of  terrible  anger,  in 
spite  of  the  solicitation  of  his  impulsive  nature 
which  incited  him  to  go  out,  he  did  not  dare  to 
venture  into  the  streets  in  such  a  costume. 

"That  which  the  most  subtle  arguments  had 
been  unable  to  accomplish,  was  obtained  through 
fear  of  ridicule. 

"Two  days  passed;  his  fury  was  changed  into 
great  mental  exhaustion,  because  impulsive 
people  can  not  withstand  the  contact  with  ob- 
stacles for  any  length  of  time. 


I 


7Q 


COMMON    SENSE 


"It  was  this  moment  which  my  master  chose 
to  undertake  the  cure,  in  which  he  was  so  vitally 
interested. 

**With  the  most  delicate  art,  he  explained  to 
the  impulsive  man  all  the  chain  of  sentiments 
leading  from  perception  to  judgment. 

**He  caused  common  sense  to  intervene  so 
happily  that  the  man  was  permeated  by  it.  My 
master  kept  him  near  by  for  several  weeks,  al- 
ways using  very  simple  arguments  to  combat  the 
instinctive  resolutions  which  were  formulated  in 
his  brain  many  times  a  day. 

**  Common  sense,  thus  solicited,  was  revealed 
to  the  impulsive  one,  and  appeared  like  a  peace- 
ful counselor. 

**The  ridiculous  and  odious  side  of  his  reso- 
lution was  represented  to  him  with  such  truth 
that  he  embraced  Lang-Ho,  saying: 

*'  'Now,  Master,  I  can  go  away,  and  your  mind 
can  be  at  rest  about  me. 

"  *The  arguments  of  common  sense  have  liber- 
ated me  from  bondage  in  which  my  lack  of 
reflection  held  me. 

*'  *I  return  to  my  home,  but,  I  beg  of  you, 
allow  me  to  take  away  this  ridiculous  costume 
which  was  my  savior. 

"  *I  wish  to  hang  it  in  my  home,  in  the  most 


ft 


' 


} 


l(^ 


I 


f 


COMMON  SENSE  AND  IMPULSE     71 

conspicuous  place,  that,  from  the  moment  my 
nature  incites  me  to  obey  the  commands  of  im- 
pulse, I  may  be  able  to  look  at  once  upon  this 
garment,  and  thus  recall  your  teachings,  which 
have  brought  sweetness  and  peace  into  my 
life.'  " 

All  those  who  are  inclined  to  act  by  instinct 
should  follow  this  example,  not  by  dressing  up 
in  a  ridiculous  robe  half  green  and  half  yellow, 
but  by  placing  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  ac- 
complishment of  impulsive  acts,  which  the  dic- 
tates of  common  sense  would  not  sanction. 

"For  those  whose  mind  possess  a  certain  deli- 
cacy," again  says  the  old  master,  **  these  ob- 
stacles will  be  of  a  purely  moral  order,  but  for 
those  who  voluntarily  allow  themselves  to  be 
dominated  by  a  diseased  desire  for  action,  ob- 
stacles should  adopt  a  tangible  form;  the  diffi- 
culty in  conquering  anything  always  makes  im- 
pulsive people  reflect  a  little. 

"Under  the  immediate  impression  of  the  per- 
ception of  an  act  they  are  ready  for  a  struggle 
to  the  death;  but  this  ardor  is  quickly  extin- 
guished, and  inertia,  in  its  turn,  having  become 
an  impulse,  makes  them  throw  far  away  from 
them  the  object  which  determined  the  effort. 

'In  proportion  as  they  encounter  obstacles, 


(< 


ii 


72 


COMMON    SENSE 


which  they  have  taken  the  precaution  to  raise, 
the  encroachment  of  the  impression  will  make 
itself  less  felt. 

**The  mere  fact  of  having  foreseen  will  be- 
come a  matter  for  reflection  for  them. 

**The  feeling  of  the  responsibilities  will  be 
roused  in  them,  and  they  will  understand  how 
diflScult  it  is  to  escape  the  consequences  of  im- 
pulsive acts." 

Would  one  not  say  that  these  lines  had  been 
written  yesterday  ? 

More  than  ever  our  age  of  unrest  makes  us 
the  prey  of  impulses,  and  to  the  majority  of  our 
contemporaries,  the  robe,  half  green  and  half 
yellow  (by  recalling  to  them  the  worship  of 
common  sense),  will  become  a  fetish,  more  pre- 
cious than  all  the  amulets  with  which  supersti- 
tion loves  to  adorn  logic,  or  to  incorporate  fan- 
tastic outline  in  the  classic  setting  of  beautiful 
jewels. 


I 


LESSON  V 

THE  DANGERS  OF  SENTIMENTALITY 

The  Shogun  says:  ** There  are  sentimentali- 
ties of  many  kinds,  some  present  less  dangers 
than  others,  but  from  every  point  of  view  they 
are  prejudicial  to  the  acquisition  and  exercise 
of  common  sense.  To  cultivate  sentiment  over 
which  the  Will  has  no  control  is  always  to  be 
regretted. 

Sentimentality  is  multiform. 

**It  presents  itself,  at  times,  under  the  aspect 
of  an  obscure  appeal  to  sensuality  and  brings 
with  it  a  passing  desire  of  the  heart  and  of  the 
senses,  which  produces  an  artificial  appreciation 
of  the  emotion  felt. 

**In  this  first  case  sentimentality  is  an  uncon- 
scious manifestation  of  egotism,  because,  outside 
of  that  which  provokes  this  outward  manifesta- 
tion, everything  is  alienated  and  becomes  in- 
distinct. 

*'The  incidents  of  existence  lose  their  true 
proportion,  since  everything  becomes  relative 
to  the  object  because  of  our  preoccupation. 

**The  impulse  reigns  supreme  there  when  sen- 

73 


74 


COMMON    SENSE 


timentality  establishes  itself,  and  the  desire  of 
judgment,  if  it  makes  itself  apparent,  is  quickly 
shunned,  to  the  profit  of  illusory  reasons,  in 
which  pure  reason  does  not  intervene. 

**This  sentimentality  amalgamating  the 
springs  of  egotism  bereaves  the  soul's  longing  of 
all  its  greatness. 

**The  anxiety  to  attribute  all  our  impressions 
to  emotion  is  only  a  way  of  intensifying  it  for 
our  personal  satisfaction,  at  the  expense  of  a 
sentiment  far  deeper  and  more  serious,  which 
never  blossoms  under  the  shadow  of  egotism  and 
of  frivolous  sentimentality. 

**  Never  will  common  sense  have  the  chance  to 
manifest  itself  in  those  who  permit  such  ephem- 
eral and  enfeebling  impressions  to  implant 
themselves  in  their  souls. 

**  However  they  must  be  pitied  because  their 
artificial  emotion  often  results  in  a  sorrow  which 
is  not  lessened  by  repetition,  but  whose  mani- 
festation is  none  the  less  prejudicial  to  the  peace 
of  their  being. 

**A11  those  who  do  not  harmonize  common 
sense  and  the  emotions  of  the  heart  become  pas- 
sive to  the  investiture  of  a  sentimentality  which 
does  not  wait  to  know  if  the  object  be  worthy  of 
them  before  it  exists  in  consciousness. 


DANGERS  OF  SENTIMENTALITY    75 


**From  this  state  of  mind  arise  disillusions 
and  their  recurrence  entails  a  defect  in  the  con- 
ception. 

**Men  who  are  often  deceived  in  allowing  them- 
selves to  feel  a  sorrow  which  is  only  based  on 
the  longings  of  sentimentality  become  pessimists 
quickly  and  deny  the  existence  of  deep  and  en- 
during affection  judged  from  its  superior  ex- 
pression. 

'^This  superior  expression  of  sentiment  is 
freed  from  all  personality  and  such  judgment 
which  differentiates  it  from  other  sentiments. 

**If  we  wished  to  appeal  to  common  sense  we 
should  acknowledge,  too  often,  that  in  the  search 
for  expansion  we  have  only  recognized  the  op- 
portunity to  satisfy  the  inclination  which  urges 
us  to  seek  for  pleasure. 

''Sentiment  reasons,  and  is  capable  of  devo- 
tion. Sentimentality  excludes  reflective  thought 
and  ignores  generosity. 

*'We  are  capable  of  sacrificing  ourselves  for 
sentiment. 

''Sentimentality  exacts  the  sacrifice  of  others. 

"Therefore,  profiting  by  the  principles  al- 
ready developed,  he  who  cultivates  common 
sense  will  never  fail  to  reason  in  the  following 
manner : 


76 


COMMON    SENSE 


*  *  Opening  the  symbolic  fan,  he  will  encounter, 
after  perfection,  the  memory  which  will  suggest 
to  him  the  recollections  of  personal  and  strange 
experiences  and  he  will  record  this  fact:  ab- 
negation is  rarely  encountered. 

*  *  The  inclination  of  our  thoughts  will  suggest 
to  us  the  difficulties  there  are  in  searching  for  it. 

*' Deduction  will  acquaint  us  with  the  temerity 
of  this  exaction,  and  precaution  will  attract  our 
thoughts  to  the  possibility  of  suffering  which 
could  proceed  from  disillusion. 

**  Following  this,  reasoning  and  judgment  will 
intervene  in  order  to  hasten  the  conclusion  for- 
mulated by  common  sense. 

''It  follows  then  that,  abnegation  being  so  rare, 
common  sense  indicates  to  me  that  it  would  be 
imprudent  for  me  to  allow  my  happiness  to 
rest  upon  the  existence  of  a  thing  so  exceptional. 

*'For  this  reason  this  sentimental  defect  will 
find  common  sense  armed  against  this  eventu- 
ality. 

''There  is  another  form  or  sentimentality  not 
less  common. 

"  It  is  that  which  extends  itself  to  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  life  and  transforms  true  pity  into 
a  false  sensibility,  the  exaggeration  of  which 
deteriorates  the  true  value  of  things. 


DANGERS  OF  SENTIMENTALITY    77 


<<\ 


Those  who  give  publicity  to  this  form  of  sen- 
timent are  agitated  (or  imagine  themselves  to 
be  agitated)  as  profoundly  on  the  most  futile  of 
pretexts  as  for  the  most  important  cause. 

*'They  do  not  think  to  ask  themselves  if  their 
ardor  is  merited;  also  every  such  experience, 
taking  out  of  them  something  of  their  inner 
selves,  leaves  them  enfeebled  and  stranded. 

"Every  excursion  into  the  domain  of  sen- 
timentality is  particularly  dangerous,  for  tour- 
ists always  fail  to  carry  with  them  the  neces- 
sary coinage  which  one  calls  common  sense." 

After  having  put  ourselves  on  guard  against 
the  surprizes  of  mental  exaggeration,  Yoritomo 
warns  us  of  a  kind  of  high  respectable  sentimen- 
tality which  we  possess,  that  is  none  the  less 
censurable  because  under  an  exterior  of  the 
purest  tenderness  it  conceals  a  profound  ego- 
tism. 

It  concerns  paternal  love  from  which  reason- 
ing and  common  sense  are  excluded. 

"Nothing''  said  he,  "seems  more  noble  than 
the  love  of  parents  for  their  children,  and  no 
sentiment  is  more  august  when  it  is  compre- 
hended in  all  its  grandeur. 

"But  how  many  people  are  apt  to  distinguish 
it  from  an  egotistical  sentimentality. 


^  i 


78 


COMMON    SENSE 


*'I  have  seen  some  mothers  oppose  the  depar- 
ture of  their  sons,  preferring  to  oblige  them  to 
lead  an  obscure  existence  near  to  them,  rather 
than  impose  upon  themselves  the  sorrow  of  a 
separation. 

''These  women  do  not  fail  to  condemn  the 
action  of  others,  who,  filled  with  a  sublime  ab- 
negation, allow  their  children  to  depart,  hiding 
from  them  the  tears  which  they  shed,  because 
they  have  the  conviction  of  seeing  them  depart 
for  the  fortune  and  the  happiness  which  they 
feel  themselves  unable  to  offer  them. 

** Which  of  these  are  worthy  of  admiration? 
Those  who  condemn  their  children  to  a  life  of 
mediocrity  in  order  to  obey  an  egotistical  sen- 
timentality, or  those  who,  with  despair  in  their 
hearts,  renounce  the  joy  of  their  presence,  and 
think  only  of  their  own  grief  in  order  to  build 
upon  it  the  happiness  of  their  dear  ones. 

**The  common  sense  of  this  latter  class  in- 
spiring in  them  this  magnificent  sentiment,  and 
forcing  them  to  set  aside  a  sentimentality  which 
is,  in  reality,  only  the  caricature  of  sentiment,  has 
permitted  them  to  escape  that  special  kind  of 
egotism,  which  could  be  defined  thus:  The 
translation  of  a  desire  for  personal  contentment. 
** Ought  we  then  to  blame  others  so  strongly? 


DANGERS  OF  SENTIMENTALITY    7» 

"It  is  necessary,  above  all,  to  teach  them  to 
reason  about  the  ardor  of  their  emotions,  and 
only  to  follow  them  when  they  find  that  they 
are  cleansed  from  all  aspiration  which  is  not 
a  pledge  of  devotion." 

Now  the  Shogun  speaks  to  us  with  that  sub- 
tlety of  analysis  which  is  characteristic  and  re- 
fers to  a  kind  of  sentimentality  the  most  fre- 
quent and  the  least  excusable. 

** There  are,"  he  tells  us,  *'a  number  of 
people  who,  without  knowing  that  they  offend 
common  sense  in  a  most  indefensible  manner,  in- 
voke sentimentality  in  order  to  dispense  with 
exercising  the  most  vulgar  pity,  to  the  profit  of 
their  neighbor. 

"A  prince,"  he  continues,  *'possest  a  large 
tract  of  land  which  he  had  put  under  grain. 

*'For  the  harvest,  a  large  number  of  peasants 
and  laborers  were  employed  and  each  one  lived 
on  the  products  of  his  labor. 

But  a  prolonged  drought  threatened  the  crop ; 
so  the  prince's  overseer  dismissed  most  of  the 
laborers,  who  failed  to  find  employment  in  the 
parched  country. 

**Soon  hunger  threatened  the  inmates  of  the 
miserable  dwellings,  and  sickness,  its  insepar- 
able companion,  did  not  fail  to  follow. 

V.6 


80 


COMMON    SENSE 


**  Facing  the  conditions  the  prince  left,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  two  or  three  wealthy  and 
charitable  people  the  laborers  would  have  starved 

to  death 

**This  pitiful  condition  was  soon  changed, 
abundance  replaced  famine,  and  the  master  re- 
turned to  live  in  his  domain. 

*'But  amazement  followed  when  he  addrest 
his  people  as  follows:  Here  I  am,  back  among 
you,  and  I  hope  to  remain  here  a  long  time ;  if 
I  left  you,  it  was  because  I  have  so  great  an 
affection  for  all  my  servants  and  because  even 
the  bare  thought  of  seeing  them  suffer  caused 
me  unbearable  sorrow. 

'*I  am  not  among  those  who  are  sufficiently 
hard-hearted  to  be  able  to  take  care  of  sick  and 
suffering  people  and  to  be  a  witness  of  their 
martyrdom.  My  pity  is  too  keen  to  permit  of 
my  beholding  this  spectacle;  this  is  why  I 
had  to  leave  to  others,  less  sensitive,  the  burden 
of  care  which  my  too  tender  heart  was  unable 
to  lavish  on  you." 

And  that  which  is  more  terrible  is  that  this 
man  believed  what  he  said. 

He  did  not  understand  the  monstrous  rent 
which  he  made  in  the  robe  of  common  sense, 
by  declaring  that  he  had  committed  the  vilest 


DANGERS  OF  SENTIMENTALITY    81 

act  of  cruelty  due  to  excessive  sensitiveness  since 
it  represented  a  murderous  act  of  omission. 

Examples  of  this  form  of  sentimentality  are 
more  numerous  than  we  think. 

There  exist  people  who  cover  their  dogs  with 
caresses,  gorging  them  with  dainties,  and  will 
take  good  care  not  to  succor  the  needy. 

Others  faint  away  at  sight  of  an  accident 
and  never  think  of  giving  aid  to  the  wounded. 

One  may  observe  that  for  people  exercising 
sentimentality  at  the  expense  of  common  sense, 
the  greatest  catastrophe  in  intensity,  if  it  be 
far  away  from  us,  diminishes,  while  the  merest 
incident,  a  little  out  of  the  ordinary,  affects  them 
in  a  most  immoderate  manner  if  it  be  produced 
in  the  circle  of  their  acquaintances. 

It  is  needless  to  add  that,  if  it  touches  them 
directly,  it  becomes  an  unparalleled  calamity; 
it  seems  that  the  rest  of  the  world  must  be 
troubled  by  it. 

This  propensity  toward  pitying  oneself  un- 
reasonably about  little  things  which  relate  to 
one  directly  and  this  exaggerated  development 
of  a  sterile  sentimentality  are  almost  always  ar- 
tificial, and  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  very 
often  aids  in  their  extermination. 

''Among  my  old  disciples,"  pursues  the  Sho- 


S2 


COMMON   SENSE 


gun,  **I  had  a  friend  whose  son  was  afflicted  by 
this  kind  of  sentimentality,  the  sight  of  blood 
made  him  faint  and  he  was  incapable  of  aiding 
any  one  whomsoever;  that  which  he  called  his 
good  heart,  and  which  was  only  a  form  of  egotis- 
tical sentimentality,  prevented  him  from  looking 
at  the  suffering  of  others. 

**One  day,  a  terrible  earthquake  destroyed 
his  palace ;  he  escaped,  making  his  way  through 
the  ruins  and  roughly  pushing  aside  the  wound- 
ed who  told  about  it  afterward. 

**I  saw  him  some  days  after;  instead  of  re- 
proaching him  severely  for  his  conduct,  I  en- 
deavored to  make  him  see  how  false  was  his  con- 
ception of  pity,  since,  not  only  had  he  not 
fainted  at  the  sight  of  those  who,  half-dead, 
were  groaning,  but  he  had  found  in  the  egotis- 
tical sentiment  of  self-preservation  the  strength 
to  struggle  against  those  who  clung  to  him,  be- 
seeching him  for  help. 

**I  demonstrated  to  him  the  evident  contradic- 
tion of  his  instinctive  cruelty  to  the  sentimen- 
tality that  it  pleased  him  to  make  public. 

**I  made  an  appeal  to  common  sense,  in  order 
to  prove  to  him  the  attitude  which  he  had,  until 
then,  assumed,  and  I  had  the  joy  of  seeing  my- 
self understood. 


DANGERS  OF  SENTIMENTALITY    8S 

**My  arguments  appealed  to  his  mentality, 
and  always  afterward,  when  he  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  bring  puerile  sentimentality  and  com- 
mon sense  face  to  face,  he  forced  himself  to  ap- 
peal to  that  quality,  which  in  revealing  to  him 
the  artifice  of  the  sentiment  which  animated  him, 
cured  him  of  false  sensibility,  which  he  had 
displayed  up  to  that  time." 

Sentimentality  is  in  reality  only  a  conception 
of  egotism,  under  the  different  forms  which  it 

adopts. 

Yoritomo  proves  it  to  us  again,  in  speaking 
of  the  weakness  of  certain  teachers,  who,  under 
the  pretext  of  avoiding  trouble,  allow  their 
children  to  follow  their  defective  inclinations. 

**It  is  by  an  instinctive  hatred  of  effort  that 
parents  forbid  themselves  to  make  their  childrea 
cry  when  reprimanding  them,"  said  he. 

*'If  the  parents  wish  to  be  sincere  to  them- 
selves, they  will  perceive  that  the  sorrow  in 
seeing  their  children's  tears  flow,  plays  a  very 
small  part  in  their  preconceived  idea  of  indulg- 
ence. 

**It  is  in  order  to  economize  their  own  ner- 
vous  energy  or  to  avoid  cleverly  the  trouble  of 
continued  teaching,  that  they  hesitate  to  pro- 
voke these  imaginary  miseries,  the  manifesta-^ 


841 


COMMON    SENSE 


tion  of  which  is  caused  by  the  great  weakness  of 
the  teachers. 

**  Common  sense,  nevertheless,  ought  to  make 
them  understand  that  it  is  preferable  to  allow 
the  little  ones  to  shed  a  few  tears,  which  are 
quickly  dried,  rather  than  to  tolerate  a  deplor- 
able propensity  for  these  habits  which,  later 
in  life,  will  cause  them  real  anxiety." 

And  the  philosopher  concludes: 

**A  very  little  reasoning  could  suffice  to  con- 
vince one  of  the  dangers  of  sentimentality,  if  the 
persons  who  devote  themselves  entirely  to  it 
consented  to  reflect,  by  frankly  agreeing  to  the 
true  cause  which  produces  it. 

"They  would  discover  in  this  false  pity  the 
desire  not  to  disturb  their  own  tranquility. 

**They  would  also  perceive  that,  in  order  to 
spare  themselves  a  few  unpleasant  moments  in 
the  present  they  are  preparing  for  themselves 
great  sorrow  for  the  future. 

**In  parental  affection,  as  in  friendship  or  in 
the  emotions  of  love,  sentimentality  is  none  other 
than  an  exaggerated  amplification  of  the  ego. 

**If  it  be  true  that  all  our  acts,  even  those 
most  worthy  of  approbation,  can  react  in  our 
personality,  at  least  it  is  necessary  that  we 
should  be  logical  and  that,  in  order  to  create 


DANGERS  OF  SENTIMENTALITY    85 

for  ourselves  a  partial  happiness  or  to  avoid  a 
temporary  annoyance,  we  should  not  prepare 
for  ourselves  an  existence,  outlined  by  deception 
and  fruitless  regrets. 

''Sentimentality  and  its  derivatives,  puerile 
pity  and  false  sensitiveness,  can  create  illusion 
for  those  who  do  not  practise  the  art  of  reason- 
ing, but  the  friends  of  common  sense  do  not 
hesitate  to  condemn  them  for  it. 

**In  spite  of  the  glitter  in  which  it  parades 
itself,  sentimentality  will  never  be  anything 
but  the  dross  of  true  sentiment." 


LESSON   VI 

THE  UTILITY  OF  COMMON  SENSE 
IN  DAILY  LIFE 

As  our  philosopher  explains,  the  influence  of 
<;ommon  sense  is  above  all  appreciation  of  daily 
events.  "We  have/'  he  continues,  **very  rarely 
in  life  the  opportunity  of  making  grave  deci- 
sions, but  we  are  called  upon  daily  to  resolve  un- 
important problems,  and  we  can  only  do  it  in 
a  judicious  way,  if  we  are  allowed  to  devote 
ourselves  to  certain  kinds  of  investigation. 

**This  is  what  may  be  called  to  judge  with 
discrimination,  otherwise,  with  common  sense. 

*' Without  this  faculty,  it  is  in  vain  that  our 
memory  amasses  the  materials,  which  must  serve 
us  in  the  comparative  examination  of  facts. 

**And  this  examination  can  only  be  spoiled 
by  decrepitude,  if  common  sense  did  not  suc- 
ceed in  dictating  its  conclusions  to  us. 

**  Thanks  to  this  faculty,  we  possess  this  ac- 
curacy of  mind  which  permits  us  to  discern 
truth  from  falsehood. 

86 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  DAILY  LIFE  87 


if 


) 


t( 


It  is  this  power  which  aids  us  in  distinguish- 
ing what  we  should  consider  as  a  duty,  as  a 
right,  or  as  a  thing  conforming  to  equity,  es- 
tablished  by  the  laws  of  intelligence. 

**  Without  common  sense  we  should  be  like  an 
inexperienced  gardener,  who,  for  want  of  knowl- 
edge, would  allow  the  tares  to  grow  and  would 
neglect  the  plants  whose  function  is  to  nourish 
man. 

**In  order  to  conform  to  the  habit  of  judg- 
ing with  common  sense,  one  ought  first  to  lay 
down  the  following  principle: 

**No  fact  can  exist,  unless  there  is  a  sufficient 
motive  to  determine  its  nature. 

*'It  is  when  operating  on  the  elements  fur- 
nished us  by  common  sense  that  we  are  able  to 
discern  the  quality  of  the  object  of  our  atten- 
tion. 

''One  day,  a  sage,  whom  people  gladly  con- 
sulted, was  asked  by  what  means  he  had  learned 
to  know  so  well  the  exact  proportion  of  things, 
so  that  he  never  failed  to  attribute  to  them 
their  real  value. 

*'  *Why'  they  added,  *can  you  foresee  so  ex- 
actly the  evil  and  direct  us  to  that  which  is 
right  and  just?' 

**And  the  superstitious  people  added: 


88 


COMMON    SENSE 


"  *Are  you  not  in  communication  with  the 
spirits,  which  float  in  space,  which  come  from 
the  other  world? 

**  Would  you  not  be  counseled  by  voices  which 
we  have  not  the  power  to  hear,  and  do  you  not 
see  things  which  are  visible  to  you  alone  ? ' 

''  'You  are  right,'  replied  the  saintly  man, 
smiling: 

**  *I  have  indeed  the  power  to  hear  and  to  see 
that  which  you  do  not  perceive ;  but  sorcery  has 
no  relation  to  the  power  which  is  attributed  to 
me. 

**If  you  wish,  you  will  be  able  to  possess  it 
in  your  turn,  for  my  means  are  not  a  secret. 

"  *I  keep  my  eyes  and  ears  open.' 

**And  as  every  one  burst  out  laughing,  be- 
lieving it  a  joke,  the  sage  began  again: 

**  'But  this  is  not  all;  after  having  seen  and 
heard,  I  call  to  my  aid  all  the  qualities  which 
constitute  common  sense  and,  thanks  to  this 
faculty,  I  draw  my  conclusions  from  my  experi- 
ence, from  which  enthusiasm,  fancy,  as  well  as 
personal  interest  are  totally  excluded. 

**  *This  done,  and  my  judgment  being  formu- 
lated in  my  thought,  I  adapt  it  to  the  circum- 
stances, and  especially  to  the  material  situation 
and  to  the  mentality  of  those  who  consult  me.' 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  DAILY  LIFE  89 


(< 


From  these  counsels,"  thinks  the  Shogun, 
**we  must  draw  a  precious  lesson, 

**It  is  true  that  an  exigency,  physical  or 
moral,  can  determine,  in  different  individuals, 
a  very  different  resolution. 

**  According  to  the  manner  of  life  adopted, 
or  the  direction  given  to  one's  duties,  different 
resolutions  can  be  made  without  lacking  com- 
mon sense.  It  is  indisputable  that  what  repre- 
sents social  obligations  does  not  demand  the  same 
conduct  from  the  peasant  as  from  the  prince. 

**We  should  outrage  common  sense  in  pre- 
senting a  workman  with  a  gorgeous  robe  suit- 
able for  great  ceremonies,  in  which  to  do  his 
work,  but  reason  would  be  equally  outraged  if 
one  put  on  a  shabby  costume  to  go  to  the  palace 
of  the  Mikado." 

The  nature  of  resolutions  inspired  by  com- 
mon sense  varies  according  to  environment,  the 
time,  and  the  state  of  mind  in  which  one  is. 

These  conditions  make  of  this  quality  a  vir- 
tue really  worth  acquiring,  for  it  is  more  diffi- 
cult to  conquer  than  many  others  and  its  ef- 
fects are  of  infinite  variety. 

But  as  always,  Yoritomo,  after  having  sig- 
naled the  danger,  and  indicated  the  remedy, 
gives  us  the  manner  of  its  application. 


90 


COMMON    SENSE 


That  which  follows  is  marked  by  that  sim- 
plicity of  conception  and  facility  of  execution 
which  render  the  doctrine  of  the  Nippon  philos- 
opher absolutely  efficacious. 

Instead  of  losing  himself  by  digressing  from 
his  subject  and  by  placing  himself  on  the  sum- 
mits of  psychology,  he  remains  with  us,  puts 
himself  on  the  level  of  the  most  humble  among 
us,  and  says  to  us  all : 

**The  best  way  to  use  common  sense  in  daily 
life  consists  in  declaring  one's  honest  inten- 
tions. 

**What  should  I  do  if  I  were  in  the  place  of 
the  person  with  whom  I  am  discussing? 

**I  found  myself  one  day  on  the  slope  of  a 
hill  named  Yung-Tshi,  and  I  remarked  that 
the  majority  of  the  trees  were  stript  of  their 
foliage. 

**The  season  seeming  to  me  not  sufficiently 
advanced  for  this  condition  of  vegetation,  I  ex- 
prest  my  astonishment  to  a  passer-by,  who 
replied  to  me : 

"  *Alas!  This  occurs  every  year  at  the  same 
time,  and  it  is  not  well  to  cultivate  trees  on  the 
height  of  Yung-Tshi,  for  the  sun,  being  too 
hot,  dries  them  up  before  the  time  when  the 
foliage  ought  to  fall.' 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  DAILY  LIFE  91 

*'A  few  days  afterward  my  steps  lead  me  on 
the  opposite  slope  of  the  same  hill. 

**  There  the  trees  were  covered  with  foliage, 
still  green  but  uncommon,  and  their  appearance 
indicated  an  unhealthy  condition  of  growth. 

'*  'Alas!'  said  a  man  who  was  working  in  the 
hedges  to  me,  'it  is  not  well  to  cultivate  trees 
on  the  height  of  Yung-Tshi,  for  the  sun  never 
shines  there,  and  they  can  only  acquire  the  vigor 
they  would  possess  if  they  were  planted  in  an- 
other country.' 

''And,  altho  recognizing  the  truth  of  these 
two  opinions,  so  contradictory,  I  could  not  help 
thinking  that  they  were  the  reproduction  of  those 
which  men,  deprived  of  common  sense,  express 

every  day. 

''The  same  hill  produced  a  vegetation,  af- 
fected in  different  ways,  by  reason  of  different 
causes;  and  the  people,  instead  of  taking  into 
consideration  how  carelessly  they  had  chosen 
the  location  of  their  plantation,  preferred  to  at- 
tribute the  defect  to  the  site  itself,  rather  than 
to  their  lack  of  precaution. 

"Both  of  them  were  suffering  from  a  hurtful 
exaggeration,  but  each  one  explained  it  in  a 
way  arbitrarily  exclusive. 

"He  of  the  north  made  out  that  the  sun  never 


92 


COMMON    SENSE 


shone  on  the  summit  of  Yung-Tshi,  and  the  in- 
habitant of  the  south  affirmed  that  the  health- 
giving  shade  was  unknown  there/* 

This  is  why  it  is  indispensable  to  the  suc- 
cessful resolution  of  the  thousand  and  one  prob- 
lems of  daily  life,  both  those  whose  sole  impor- 
tance is  derived  from  their  multiplicity  and  those 
whose  seriousness  justly  demands  our  attention, 
to  employ  the  very  simple  method  which  pre- 
scribes that  we  place  ourselves  mentally  in  the 
position  and  circumstances  of  the  person  with 
whom  we  are  discussing. 

If  each  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  Yung-Tshi 
had  followed  this  precept,  instead  of  declaring 
that  the  hill  never  received  the  sun  or  that  shade 
never  fell  upon  it,  they  would  each  one  have 
thought  for  himself. 

'*At  what  conclusions  should  I  arrive,  if  I 
had  planted  my  trees  on  the  opposite  side  ? ' ' 

From  the  reasoning  which  would  have  ensued, 
the  following  truth  would  most  certainly  have 
been  revealed. 

*'If  I  were  in  the  other  man's  place,  I  should 
certainly  think  as  he  does." 

This  premise  once  laid  down,  the  conclusion 
would  be  reached;  all  the  more  exact,  because, 
without  abandoning  their  arguments,  each  one 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  DAILY  LIFE  93 

would  present  those  which  it  is  easy  to  turn 
against  an  adversary. 

Before  solving  a  problem,  he  who  desires  to 
avoid  making  a  mistake  must  never  fail  to  ask 
himself  this  question: 

What  should  I  do  if  my  interests  were  those 
of  the  opposite  parly  ? 

Or,  yet  again : 

What  should  I  reply  if  my  adversaries  used 
the  same  language  to  me  as  I  purpose  using 
when  addressing  them? 

This  method  is  valuable  in  that  it  raises  un- 
expected objections,  which  the  mind  would  not 
consider  if  one  had  simply  studied  the  ques- 
tion from  one's  own  point  of  view. 

It  is  a  self-evident  fact  that,  according  to  the 
state  of  mind  in  which  we  are,  things  assume 
different  proportions  in  the  rendering  of  judg- 
ment on  them. 

We  must  not  argue  as  children  do,  who,  not 
having  the  sense  of  calculating  distances,  ask 
how  the  man  standing  near  to  them  will  be  able 
to  enter  his  house,  which  they  see  far  away,  and 
which  seems  to  them  of  microscopic  dimensions. 

One  departs  from  common  sense  when  one 
attributes  to  insignificant  things  a  fundamental 
value. 


94 


COMMON    SENSE 


We  neglect  to  consider  it  in  a  most  serious 
way  when  we  adopt  principles  contrary  to  the 
general  consensus  of  opinion  accredited  in  the 
environment  in  which  we  are  living. 

*'A  high  dignitary  of  the  court,"  says  Yori- 
tomo,  ''would  be  lacking  in  common  sense  if  he 
wished  to  conduct  himself  as  a  peasant  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  a  peasant  would  give  a  proof 
of  great  folly  were  he  to  attempt  the  remodel- 
ing of  his  life  on  the  principles  adopted  by 
courtiers. 

*'He  who,  passing  his  life  in  camps,  wished 
to  think  and  to  act  like  the  philosopher,  whose 
books  are  his  principal  society,  would  cause 
people  to  doubt  his  wisdom;  and  the  thmker 
who  should  adopt  publicly  the  methods  of  a 
swashbuckler  would  only  inspire  contempt." 

In  ordinary  life,  one  ought  to  consider  this 
faculty  of  common  sense  as  the  ruling  principle 
of  conduct. 

One  can  be  lacking  in  thought,  in  audacity, 
in  brilliant  qualities,  if  only  one  possesses  com- 
mon sense. 

It  takes  the  place  of  intelligence  in  many 
people,  whose  minds,  unaccustomed  to  subtle  ar- 
gument, only  lend  themselves  to  very  simple 
reasoning. 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  DAILY  LIFE  95 

A  versatile  mentality  rarely  belongs  to  sueh 
minds,  because  it  is  not  their  forte  to  unfold 
hidden  truths. 

It  walks  in  the  light  and  keeps  in  the  very 
middle  of  the  road,  far  from  the  ambushes 
which  may  be  concealed  by  the  hedges  of  the 

cross-roads. 

Many  people  gifted  with  common  sense  but 
deprived  of  ordinary  intelligence  have  amassed 
a  fortune,  but  never,  no  matter  how  clever  he 
may  be,  has  a  man  known  success,  if  he  has  not 
strictly  observed  the  laws  of  common  sense. 

It  is  not  only  in  debates  that  the  presence  of 
this  virtue  should  make  itself  felt,  but  every 
act  of  our  life  should  be  impregnated  with  it. 

There  are  no  circumstances,  no  matter  how 
insignificant  they  may  appear,  where  the  inter- 
vention  of  common  sense  would  be  undesir- 
able. 

It  is  only  common  sense  which  will  indicate 
the  course  of  conduct  to  be  pursued,  so  as  not 
to  hurt  the  feelings  or  offend  the  prejudices  of 
other  people. 

There  are  great  savants,  whose  science,  freed 
from  all  puerile  beliefs,  rises  above  current  su- 
perstition. 

They  would  consider  it  a  great  lack  of  com- 

V.7 


i! 


96 


COMMON    SENSE 


mon  sense  if  they  expounded  their  theories  be- 
fore the  humble-minded,  whose  blind  faith 
would  be  injured  thereby. 

Of  two  things  one  is  certain:  either  they 
would  refuse  to  believe  such  theories  and  this 
display  of  learning  would  be  fruitless,  or 
their  habitual  credulity  would  be  troubled  and 
they  would  lose  their  tranquility  without  acquir- 
ing a  conviction  sufificiently  strong  to  give  them 
perfect  peace  of  mind. 

Even  in  things  which  concern  health,  common 
sense  is  applicable  to  daily  life. 

It  is  common  sense  which  will  preserve  us 
from  excesses,  by  establishing  the  equilibrium 
of  the  annoyances  which  result  from  them,  with 
reference  to  the  doubtful  pleasure  which  they 
procure. 

Thanks  to  common  sense,  we  shall  avoid  the 
weariness  of  late  nights  and  the  danger  of 
giving  oneself  up  to  the  delights  of  dissipation. 

*^It  is  common  sense,''  says  the  philosopher, 
"which  forces  us  at  a  banquet  to  raise  our  eyes 
to  the  hour-glass  to  find  out  how  late  it  is. 

''It  is  under  the  inspiration  of  this  great  qual- 
ity of  mind  that  we  shall  avoid  putting  to  our 
lips  the  cup  already  emptied  many  limes. 

''Common  sense  will  reflect  upon  the  mirror 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  DAILY  LIFE  97 

of  our  imagination  the  specter  of  the  day  after 
the  orgy ;  it  will  evoke  the  monster  of  the  head- 
ache which  works  upon  the  suffering  cranium 
with  its  claws  of  steel ;  and,  at  some  future  day, 
it  will  show  us  precocious  decrepitude  as  well 
as  all  bodily  ills  which  precede  the  final  decay  of 
those  who  yield  to  their  passions.  It  will  also 
impose  upon  us  the  performance  of  duty  under  the 
form  which  it  has  adopted  for  each  individual. 

"Common  sense  represents  for  some  the  care 
of  public  affairs ;  for  others  those  of  the  family ; 
for  us  all  the  great  desire  to  leave  intact  to  our 
descendants  the  name  which  we  have  received 
from  our  fathers. 

"For  some  of  those  still  very  young,  it  is  like 
a  lover  long  desired ! 

"For  sages  and  warriors,  it  blows  the  trum- 
pet of  glory. 

"Finally,  common  sense  is  the  chosen  pur- 
pose of  every  one,  courted,  demanded,  desired 
or  accepted,  but  it  exists,  and  under  the  penalty 
of  most  serious  inconveniences  it  does  not  per- 
mit us  to  forget  its  existence.** 

Coming  down  from  the  heights  where  he  al- 
lows himself  to  be  transported  at  times  for  a 
brief  moment,  Yoritomo  tells  us  the  part  played 
by  common  sense  with  reference  to  health. 


S 


98 


COMMON    SENSE 


''Common  sense*'  he  assures  us,  **is  the  wisest 
physician  whom  it  is  possible  to  consult. 

**If  we  followed  its  advice,  we  should  avoid 
the  thousand  and  one  little  annoyances  of  ill- 
nesses caused  by  imprudence. 

**The  choice  of  clothing  would  be  regulated 
according  to  the  existing  temperature. 

**One  would  avoid  the  passing  at  once  from 
extreme  heat  to  extreme  cold. 

*'One  would  never  proffer  this  stupid  reflec- 
tion: Bah!  I  shall  take  care  of  myself,  which 
impudent  people  declare  when  exposing  them- 
selves carelessly  to  take  cold. 

**We  should  understand  that  disease  is  a  cause 
of  unparalleled  disorder  and  discord. 

'*In  addition  to  the  thought  of  possible  suf- 
ferings, that  of  grief  for  those  whom  we  love, 
joined  to  the  apprehension  of  a  cessation  of  social 
functions,  on  whose  achievement  depends  our 
fortune,  would  suffice  to  eliminate  all  idea  of 
imprudence,  if  we  had  the  habit  of  allowing  com- 
mon sense  to  participate  in  all  our  actions  of 
daily  life. 

**To  those  who  walk  under  its  guidance,  it 
manifests  itself  without  ceasing ;  it  dominates  all 
actions  without  their  being  compelled  to  separ- 
ate themselves  from  it. 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  DAILY  LIFE  99 

**It  is  unconsciously  that  they  appeal  to  com- 
mon sense  and  they  have  no  need  of  making  an. 
effort  to  follow  its  laws. 

''Common  sense  is  the  intelligence  of  in- 
stinct." 


LESSON  VII 

POWER  OF  DEDUCTION 

Before  entering  the  path  which  relates  direct- 
ly to  the  intellectual  efforts  concerning  the  ac- 
quisition of  common  sense,  the  Shogun  calls  our 
attention  to  the  power  of  deduction. 

*'It  is  only/'  said  he,  ** where  we  are  suffi- 
ciently permeated  with  all  the  principles  of 
judgment  that  we  shall  be  able  to  think  of  ac- 
quiring this  quality,  so  necessary  to  the  har- 
mony of  life. 

"The  most  important  of  all  the  mental  opera- 
tions which  ought  to  be  practised  by  him  who 
desires  common  sense  to  reign  supreme  in  all  his 
actions  and  decisions,  is  incontestably  deduction. 

''When  the  union  of  ideas,  which  judgment 
permits,  is  made  with  perception  and  exactness, 
there  results  always  an  analysis,  which,  if  prac- 
tised frequently,  will  end  by  becoming  almost  a 
mechanical  act. 

**It  is,  however,  well  to  study  the  phases  of 
this  analysis,  in  order  to  organize  them  methodi- 
cally first. 

100 


POWER   OF   DEDUCTION        101 

*' Later,  when  the  mind  shall  be  sufficiently 
drilled  in  this  kind  of  gymnastics,  all  their  move- 
ments will  be  repeated  in  an  almost  unconscious 
way,  and  deduction,  that  essential  principle  of 
common  sense,  will  be  self-imposed. 

''In  order  that  deductions  may  be  a  natural 
development,  the  element  relating  to  those  which 
should  be  the  object  of  judgment  should  be 
grouped  first. 

"The  association  of  statements  is  an  excel- 
lent method  for  it  introduces  into  thought  the 
existence  of  productive  agents. 

"We  have  already  spoken  of  the  grouping 
of  thoughts,  which  is  a  more  synthetical  form 
of  that  selection. 

"Instead  of  allowing  it  to  be  enlarged  by 
touching  lightly  on  all  that  which  is  connected 
with  the  subject,  it  is  a  question,  on  the  con- 
trary, of  confining  it  to  the  facts  relating  to  only 

one  object. 

"These  facts  should  be  drawn  from  the  do- 
main of  the  past;  by  comparison,  they  can  be 
brought  to  the  domain  of  the  present  in  order 
to  be  able  to  associate  the  former  phenomena 
with  those  from  which  it  is  a  question  of  draw- 
ing deductions. 

"It  is  rarely  that  these  latter  depend  on  one 


102 


COMMON    SENSE 


decision  alone,  even  when  they  are  presented 
under  the  form  of  a  single  negation  or  aflBrma- 
tion. 

*' Deduction  is  always  the  result  of  many  ob- 
servations, formulated  with  great  exactness, 
which  common  sense  binds  together. 

'*That  which  is  called  a  line  of  action  is  al- 
ways suggested  by  the  analysis  of  the  events 
which  were  produced  under  circumstances  analo- 
gous to  those  which  exist  now. 

*'From  the  result  of  these  observations,  the 
habit  of  thinking  permits  of  drawing  deductions 
and  common  sense  concludes  the  analysis. 

The  method  of  deduction  rests  upon  this. 
One  thing  being  equal  to  a  previous  one 
should  produce  the  same  effects. 

*'If  we  find  ourselves  faced  by  an  incident 
that  our  memory  can  assimilate  with  another 
incident  of  the  same  kind,  we  must  deduce  the 
following  chain  of  reasoning: 

**  First,  the  incident  of  long  ago  has  entailed 
inevitable  consequences. 

'*  Secondly,  the  incident  of  to-day  ought  to 
produce  the  same  effects,  unless  the  circumstan- 
ces which  surround  it  are  different. 

**It  is  then  a  question  of  analyzing  the  cir- 
cumstances and  of  weighing  the  causes  whose 


<< 


iC 


POWER    OF    DEDUCTION 


103 


manifestation  could  determine  a  disparity  in  the 
results. 

'*We  shall  interest  ourselves  first  in  the  sur- 
roundings, for  thus,  as  we  have  said,  habits  of 
thought  and  feeling  vary  according  to  the  epoch 
and  the  environment. 

**A  comparison  will  be  established  between 
persons  or  things,  in  order  to  be  absolutely  con- 
vinced of  their  degree  of  conformity. 

'*The  state  of  mind  in  which  we  were  when 
the  previous  events  were  manifested  will  be  con- 
sidered, and  we  shall  not  fail  to  ascertain  plainly 
the  similarity  or  change  of  humor  at  the  mo- 
ment as  related  to  that  of  the  past. 

**It  is  also  of  importance  to  observe  the  state 
of  health,  for  under  the  affliction  of  sickness 
things  assume  very  easily  a  hostile  aspect. 

**It  would  be  wrong  to  attribute  to  events 
judged  during  an  illness  the  same  value  which 
is  given  to  them  at  this  present  moment. 

**When  one  is  absolutely  decided  as  to  the 
relation  of  new  perceptions  and  mental  repre- 
sentations, one  can  calculate  exactly  the  degree 
of  comparison. 

**The  moment  will  then  have  arrived  to  syn- 
thesize all  the  observations  and  to  draw  from 
them  the  following  deductions: 


104 


COMMON    SENSE 


{< 


First,  like  causes  ought,  all  things  being 
equal,  to  produce  like  effects. 

*  *  Secondly,  the  event  which  is  in  question  will 
therefore  have  the  same  consequences  as  the  pre- 
vious one,  since  it  is  presented  under  the  same 
conditions. 

* '  Or  again : 

**  Being  granted  the  principle  that  like  causes 
produce  like  effects,  as  I  have  just  affirmed,  and 
that  there  exist  certain  incompatibilities  be- 
tween the  contingencies  of  the  past  and  those  of 
to-day,  one  must  allow  that  these  incompatibili- 
^  ties  will  produce  different  results. 

*'And,   after  this  reasoning,   the   deductions 
will  be  established  by  constituting  a  comparison 
in  favor  of  either  the  present  or  past  state  of 
'  things.'' 

But  the  philosopher,  who  thinks  of  everything, 
has  foreseen  the  case  where  false  ideas  have 
obscured  the  clearness  of  the  deductions,  and 
he  said  to  us : 

*'The  association  of  false  ideas,  if  it  does  not 
proceed  from  the  difficulty  of  controlling  things, 
is  always  in  ungovernable  opposition  to  the 
veracity  of  the  deduction. 

'*What  would  be  thought  of  a  man  of  eighty 
years  who,  coming  back  to  his  country  after  a 


POWER    OF    DEDUCTION        106 

long  absence,  said,  on  seeing  the  family  roof 
from  a  distance: 

"  *When  I  was  twenty  years  old,  in  leaving 
here,  it  took  me  twenty  minutes  to  reach  the 
home  of  my  parents,  so  I  shall  reach  the  thresh- 
old in  twenty  minutes.' 

'*The  facts  would  be  exact  in  principle. 

'*The  distance  to  be  covered  would  be  the 
same;  but  legs  of  eighty  years  have  not  the  same 
agility  as  those  of  very  young  people,  and  in. 
predicting  that  he  will  reach  the  end  of  his  walk 
in  the  same  number  of  minutes  as  he  did  in  the 
past,  the  old  man  would  deceive  himself  most 
surely. 

"If,  on  the  contrary,  on  reaching  the  same 
place  he  perceived  that  a  new  route  had  been 
made,  and  that  instead  of  a  roundabout  way 
of  approach,  as  in  the  past,  the  house  was  now 
in  a  straight  line  from  the  point  where  he  was 
looking  at  it,  it  would  be  possible  to  estimate 
approximately  the  number  of  minutes  which 
he  could  gain  on  the  time  employed  in  the  past, 
by  calculating  the  delay  imposed  upon  him  by 
his  age  and  his  infirmities. 

"Those  to  whom  deduction  is  familiar,  at 
times  astonish  thoughtless  persons  by  the  sound- 
ness of  their  judgment. 


) 


106 


COMMON    SENSE 


**  A  prince  drove  to  his  home  in  the  country  in 
a  sumptuous  equipage. 

*'He  was  preceded  by  a  herald  and  borne  in 
a  palanquin  by  four  servants,  who  were  replaced 
by  others  at  the  first  signs  of  fatigue,  in  order 
that  the  speed  of  the  journey  should  never  be 
slackened. 

**  As  they  were  mounting,  with  great  difficulty, 
a  zigzag  road  which  led  up  along  the  side  of  a 
hill,  one  of  these  men  cried  out : 

*'  'Stop,'  said  he,  'in  the  name  of  Buddha, 

stop!' 

**The  prince  leaned  out  from  the  palanquin  to 
ask  the  cause  of  this  exclamation : 

"  'My  lord,'  cried  the  man,  'if  you  care  to 
live,  tell  your  porters  to  stop!' 

"The  great  man  shrugged  his  shoulders  and 
turning  toward  his  master  of  ceremonies,  who 
was  riding  at  his  side,  said: 

**  'See  what  that  man  wants.* 

"But  scarcely  had  the  officer  allowed  his  horse 
to  take  a  few  steps  in  the  direction  of  the  man 
who  had  given  warning  when  the  palanquin, 
with  the  prince  and  his  bearers,  rolled  down  a 
precipice,  opened  by  the  sinking  in  of  the  earth. 

"They  raised  them  all  up  very  much  hurt, 
and  the  first  action  of  the  prince,  who  waa  in- 


POWER    OF    DEDUCTION 


107 


jured,  was  to  have  arrested  the  one  who,  accord- 
ing to  him,  had  evoked  an  evil  fate. 

"He  was  led,  then  and  there,  to  the  nearest 
village  and  put  into  a  cell. 

"The  poor  man  protested. 

"  'I  have  only  done  what  was  natural,'  said 
he.  *I  am  going  to  explain  it,  but  I  pray  you 
let  me  see  the  prince;  I  shall  not  be  able  to 
justify  myself  when  he  is  ill  with  fever. ' 

"  'What  do  you  mean,'  they  replied,  'do  you 
prophesy  that  the  prince  will  have  a  fever  ? ' 

"  'He  is  going  to  have  it.' 

**  'You  see,  you  are  a  sorcerer,'  said  the  jailer, 
*you  make  predictions.' 

"And  then  he  shut  him  in  prison,  to  go  away 
and  to  relate  his  conversation  to  them  all. 

"During  this  time,  they  called  in  a  healer  who 
stated  that  the  wounds  of  the  great  nobleman 
were  not  mortal  in  themselves,  but  that  the 
fever  which  had  declared  itself  could  become 
dangerous. 

"He  was  cured  after  long  months. 

"During  this  time  the  poor  man  languished 
in  his  prison,  from  whence  he  was  only  taken 
to  appear  before  the  judges. 

"Accused  of  sorcery  and  of  using  black 
magic,  he  explained  very  simply  that  he  had 


108 


COMMON    SENSE 


foreseen  the  danger,  because  in  raising  his  eyes 
he  had  noticed  that  the  part  of  the  ground  over 
which  the  herald  had  passed  was  sinking,  and 
that  he  had  drawn  the  following  conclusions : 

"The  earth  seemed  to  have  only  a  medium 
thickness. 

''Under  the  feet  of  the  herald  he  had  seen  it 
crumble  and  fall  in. 

''He  had  deduced  from  this  that  a  weight 
five  times  as  heavy  added  to  that  of  the  palan- 
quin, would  not  fail  to  produce  a  landslide. 

"As  to  the  prediction  concerning  the  fever, 
it  was  based  on  what  he  had  seen  when  in  the 

war. 

"He  had  then  observed  that  every  wound  is 
always  followed  by  a  disposition  to  fever;  he 
therefore  could  not  fail  to  deduce  that  the  seri- 
ous contusions  occasioned  by  the  fall  of  the 
prince  would  produce  the  inevitable  conse- 
quences. 

"The  judge  was  very  much  imprest  with  the 
perspicacity  of  this  man ;  not  only  did  he  give 
him  his  liberty,  but  he  engaged  him  in  his  per- 
sonal service  and  in  due  time  enabled  him  to 
make  his  fortune.*' 

We  do  not  wish  to  affirm — any  more  than 
Yoritomo,  for  that  matter— that  fortunate  de- 


POWER   OF   DEDUCTION        109 


ductions  are  always  so  magnificently  rewarded 
as  were  those  of  this  man. 

However,  without  the  causes  being  so  strik- 
ing, many  people  have  owed  their  fortune  to 
the  faculty  which  they  possest  of  deducing  re- 
sults where  the  analogy  of  the  past  circumstan- 
ces suggested  to  them  what  would  happen. 

He  warns  us  against  the  propensity  which  we 
have  of  too  easily  avoiding  a  conclusion  which 
does  not  accord  with  our  desires. 

"Too  many  people,'*  said  he,  "wish  to  un- 
dertake to  make  deductions  by  eliminating  the 
elements  which  deprive  them  of  a  desired  de- 
cision. 

"They  do  not  fail  either  to  exaggerate  the 
reasons  which  plead  in  favor  of  this  decision; 
also  we  see  many  persons  suffer  from  reasoning, 
instead  of  feeling  the  good  effects  of  it." 

Those  who  cultivate  common  sense  will  never 
fall  into  this  error,  for  they  will  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  convincing  themselves  that  by  acting 
thus  they  do  not  deceive  any  one  except  them- 
selves. 

By  glossing  over  truth  in  order  to  weaken  the 
logical  consequences  of  deductions  they  are  the 
first  to  be  the  victims  of  this  childish  trick. 

That  which  is  called  false  deduction  is  rarely 


110 


COMMON    SENSE 


aught  save  the  desire  to  escape  a  resolution  which 
a  just  appraisement  would  not  fail  to  dictate. 

It  might  be,  also,  that  this  twisting  of  judg- 
ment comes  from  a  person  having  been,  in  some 
past  time,  subjected  to  unfortunate  influences. 

By  devoting  oneself  to  the  evolution  of 
thought,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken  when 
presenting  the  symbolical  fan,  and  above  all, 
by  adopting  the  precepts  which,  following  the 
method  of  Yoritomo,  we  are  going  to  develop 
in  the  following  lessons,  we  shall  certainly  suc- 
ceed in  checking  the  errors  of  false  reasoning. 

**The  important  thing,''  said  he,  ''is  not  to 
let  wander  the  thought,  which,  after  resting  for 
a  moment  on  the  subject  with  which  we  are  con- 
cerned and  after  touching  lightly  on  ideas  of  a 
similar  character,  begins  to  stray  very  far  from 
its  basic  principles. 

"Have  you  noted  the  flight  of  certain  birds? 

**They  commence  by  gathering  at  one  point, 
then  they  describe  a  series  of  circles  around  this 
point,  at  first  very  small,  but  whose  circum- 
ference enlarges  at  every  sweep. 

**  Little  by  little  the  central  point  is  aban- 
doned, they  no  longer  approach  it,  and  disap- 
pear in  the  sky,  drawn  by  their  fancy  toward  an- 
other point  which  they  will  leave  very  soon. 


POWER    OF    DEDUCTION        111 


li 


The  thoughts  of  one  who  does  not  know  how 
to  gather  them  together  and  to  concentrate  them 
are  like  these  birds. 

''They  start  from  a  central  point,  then  spread 
out,  at  first  without  getting  far  from  this  center, 
but  soon  they  lose  sight  of  it  and  fly  toward  a 
totally  different  subject  that  a  mental  represen- 
tation has  just  produced. 

*'And  this  lasts  until  the  moment  when,  in  a 
sudden  movement,  the  first  one  is  conscious  of 
this  wandering  tendency. 

"But  it  is  often  too  late  to  bring  back  these 
wanderers  to  the  initial  idea,  for,  in  the  course 
of  their  circuits,  they  have  brushed  against  a 
hundred  others,  which  are  confounded  with  the 
first,  weaken  it,  and  take  away  its  exact  pro- 
portions. 

"The  great  stumbling-block  again  is  that  of 
becoming  lost  in  the  details  whose  multiplicity 
prevents  us  from  discerning  their  complete  func- 
tion in  the  act  of  practising  deduction. 

"It  is  better,  in  the  case  where  our  percep- 
tion finds  itself  assailed  by  the  multitude  of 
these  details,  to  proceed  by  the  process  of  elimi- 
nation, in  order  not  to  become  involved  in  use- 
less and  lazy  efforts. 

"In  this  case  we  must  act  like  a  man  who  must 
V.8 


11« 


COMMON    SENSE 


<( 


n 


determine  the  color  of  a  material  at  a  distance 
where  the  tiny  designs  stand  out  in  a  relief  of 
white  on  a  background  of  black. 

**  Suppose  that  he  is  placed  at  a  distance  too 
great  to  perceive  this  detail. 

*'What  should  he  do  to  be  able  to  give  the 
best  possible  description? 

He  will  proceed  by  elimination. 
■  The  material  is  neither  red  nor  green ;  orange 
and  violet  must  be  set  aside,  as  well  as  all  the 
subordinate  shades. 

*'It  has  a  dull  appearance,  hence,  it  is  gray; 
unless  .  .  .  And  here  mental  activity  comes 
into  play  and  will  suggest  to  him  that  gray  is 
composed  of  black  and  white. 

''He  will  then  be  sure  to  form  a  judgment 
which  will  not  be  spoiled  by  falsity,  if  he  de- 
clares that  the  material  is  a  mixture  of  black 
and  white. 

''Later,  by  drawing  nearer,  he  will  be  able 
to  analyze  the  designs  and  to  convince  himself 
of  their  respective  form  and  color,  but  by  de- 
ducing that  the  material  was  made  up  of  the 
mixture  of  two  colors  he  will  have  come  as  near 
as  possible  to  the  truth : 

"Deduction  never  prejudges;  it  is  based  on 
facts;  only  on  things  accomplished;  it  unfolds 


POWER   OF    DEDUCTION        113 

the  teaching  that  we  ought  to  obtain  as  a  re- 
sult.'* 

Again  the  Shogun  recommends  to  us  the  union 
of  thoughts  and  the  continuous  examination  of 
past  incidents  in  the  practise  of  deductions. 

"If  on  entering  a  room,"  said  he,  "we  are  at 
times  confused,  it  happens  also  that  we  correct 
this  impression  after  a  more  attentive  examina- 
tion. 

"The  gilding  is  of  inferior  quality;  the  ma- 
terials are  of  cotton,  the  paintings  ordinary,  and 
the  mattings  coarse. 

"At  first  sight  we  should  have  deduced,  judg- 
ing from  appearances,  that  the  possessor  of  this 
house  was  a  very  rich  man,  but  a  second  exami- 
nation will  cause  us  to  discover  embarrassment 

and  anxiety. 

"It  is  the  same  with  all  decisions  that  we 

must  make. 

"Before  devoting  ourselves  to  deductions  in- 
spired by  the  general  aspect  of  things,  it  is  well 
to  examine  them  one  by  one  and  to  discover  their 
defects  or  recognize  their  good  qualities. 

"We  shall  be  able  thus  to  acquire  that  pene- 
tration of  mind  whose  development,  by  leading 
us  toward  wise  deductions,  wiU  bring  us  to  the 
discovery  of  the  truth." 


LESSON  vin 

HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  COMMON  SENSE 

Common  Sense  is  a  science,  whatever  may  be 
said;  according  to  Yoritomo,  it  does  not  blos- 
som naturally  in  the  minds  of  men ;  it  demands 
cultivation,  and  the  art  of  reasoning  is  acquired 
like  all  the  faculties  which  go  to  make  ud  moral 
equilibrium. 

''This  quality,"  said  the  philosopher,  "is  ob- 
scure and  intangible,  like  the  air  we  breathe. 

**Like  the  air  we  breathe,  it  is  necessary  to 
our  existence,  it  surrounds  us,  envelops  us,  and 
is  indispensable  to  the  harmony  of  our  mental 
Ufe. 

''To  acquire  this  precious  gift,  many  condi- 
tions are  obligatory,  the  principle  ones  being  2 

"Sincerity  of  perception. 

"Art  of  the  situation. 

"Attention.  ^ 

'  Approximation. 

'Experience. 

'  Comparison. 

114 


HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT 


116 


It 


ti 


li 


**Analysis. 

"Synthesis. 

"Destination. 

"Direction. 

"And  lastly  the  putting  of  the  question. 

"It  is  very  clear  that  without  exactness  of 
perception  we  could  not  pretend  to  judge  justly ; 
it  would  then  be  impossible  for  us  to  hear  the 
voice  of  common  sense,  if  we  did  not  strive  to 

develop  it. 

"Perception  is  usually  combined  with  what 
they  call  in  philosophical  language  adaptation. 

"Otherwise  it  is  difficult,  when  recognizing  a 
sensation,  not  to  attribute  it  at  once  to  the  sen- 
timent which  animated  it  at  the  time  of  its  mani- 
festation. 

"The  first  condition,  then,  in  the  acquiring 
of  common  sense  is  to  maintain  perfection  in  all 
its  pristine  exactness,  by  abstracting  the  con- 
tingencies which  could  influence  us. 

"If  we  do  not  endeavor  to  separate  from  our 
true  selves  the  suggestions  of  sense-conscious- 
ness, we  shall  reach  the  point  where  perception 
is  transformed  into  conception,  that  is  to  say,  we 
shall  no  longer  obtain  reality  alone,  but  a  modi- 
fied reality. 

"With  regard  to  perception,  if  we  understand 


116 


COMMON    SENSE 


its  truthfulness,  it  will  be  a  question  for  re- 
awakeniDg  it,  of  placing  ourselves  mentally  in 
the  environment  where  it  was  produced,  and  of 
awakening  the  memory,  so  as  to  be  able  to  dis- 
tinguish, without  mistake,  the  limits  within 
which  it  is  narrowly  confined. 

'  *  The  art  of  situation  consists  in  reproducing, 
mentally,  past  facts,  allowing  for  the  influence 
of  the  surroundiags  at  that  time,  as  compared 
with  the  present  environment. 

*'One  must  not  fail  to  think  about  the  in- 
fluences to  which  one  has  been  subjected  since 
this  time. 

'^It  is  possible  that  life  during  its  develop- 
ment in  the  aspirant  to  common  sense  may  have 
changed  the  direction  of  his  first  conceptions 
either  by  conversation  or  by  readiug  or  by  the 
reproduction  of  divers  narrations. 

**It  would  then  be  a  lack  of  common  sense  to 
base  an  exact  recollection  of  former  iucidents 
on  the  recent  state  of  being  of  the  soul,  without 
seeking  to  reproduce  the  state  of  mind  in  which 
one  was  at  the  epoch  when  those  incidents  oc- 
curred. 

**  Activity  of  mind,  stimulated  to  the  utmost, 
is  able  to  give  a  color  to  precediug  impressions, 
which  they  never  have  had,  and,  iu  this  case  again, 


' 

i 


HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT 


in 


the  recollection  will  be  marred  by  inexactness. 

**The  art  of  situation  requires  the  strictest 
application  and  on  this  account  it  is  a  valuable 
factor  in  the  acquirement  of  common  sense. 

**  Attention  vitalizes  our  activity  in  order  to 
accelerate  the  development  of  a  definite  purpose 
toward  which  it  can  direct  its  energy. 

**It  could  be  analyzed  as  follows: 

*' First,  to  see; 

"Secondly,  to  hear. 

"The  functions  of  the  other  senses  come  af- 
terward, and  their  susceptibility  can  attract 
our  attention  to  the  sensations  which  they  give 
us,  such  as  the  sense  of  smell,  of  touch,  of  taste. 

"These  purely  physical  sensations  possess, 
however,  a  moral  signification,  from  which  we 
are  permitted  to  make  valuable  deductions. 

* '  The  first  two  have  three  distinct  phases : 

"First  degree,  to  see. 

"Second  degree,  to  look. 

"Third  degree,  to  observe. 

"If  we  see  a  material,  its  color  strikes  us 
first  and  we  say:  I  have  seen  a  red  or  yellow 
material,  and  this  will  be  all. 

"Applying  ourselves  more  closely,  we  look  at 
it  and  we  define  the  peculiarities  of  the  color. 
We  say :  it  is  bright  red  or  dark  red. 


118 


COMMON    SENSE 


**In  observing  it  we  determine  to  what  use 
it  is  destined. 

*'The  eye  is  attracted  by: 

' '  The  color. 

'*The  movement. 

'*The  form. 

**The  number. 

*'The  duration. 

**We  have  just  spoken  of  the  color. 

**The  movement  is  personified  by  a  series  of 
gestures  that  people  make  or  by  a  series  of 
changes  to  which  they  subject  things. 

**The  form  is  represented  by  the  different  out- 
lines. 

*'The  number  by  their  quantity. 

'*The  duration  by  their  length ;  one  will  judge 
of  the  length  of  time  it  takes  to  walk  a  road  by 
seeing  the  length  of  it. 

**The  act  of  listening  is  divided  into  three 
degrees. 

**  First  degree,  to  hear. 

''Second  degree,  to  understand. 

**  Third  degree,  to  reflect. 

**If  some  one  walking  in  the  country  hears 
a  dog  bark  he  perceives  first  a  sound :  this  is  the 
act  of  hearing. 

*'He  will  distinguish  that  this  sound  is  pro- 


HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT 


119 


► 


duced  by  the  barking  of  a  dog ;  this  is  the  act  of 
understanding. 

**  Reflection  will  lead  him  then  to  think  that  a 
house  or  a  human  being  is  near,  for  a  dog  goes 
rarely  alone. 

''If  the  things  which  are  presented  to  our 
sight  are  complex,  those  which  strike  our  ears 
are  summed  up  in  one  word,  sound,  which  has 
only  one  definition,  the  quality  of  the  sound. 

**Then  follow  the  innumerable  categories  of 
sound  that  we  distinguish  only  by  means  of 
comprehension  and  reflection,  rendered  so  in- 
stinctive by  habit  that  we  may  call  them  auto- 
matic, so  far  as  those  which  relate  to  familiar 

sounds. 

**The  example  which  we  have  just  given  is  a 

proof  of  this  fact. 

*'Let  us  add  that  this  habit  develops  each 
sensitive  faculty  to  its  highest  degree. 

''The  inhabitants  of  the  country  can  distin- 
guish each  species  of  bird  by  listening  to  his 
song ;  and  the  hermits,  the  wanderers,  those  who 
live  with  society  on  a  perpetual  war  footing,  per- 
ceive sounds  which  would  not  strike  the  ears  of 
civilized  people. 

"Approximation  is  also  one  of  the  stones  by 
whose  aid  we  construct  the  edifice  of  common  sense. 


120 


COMMON    SENSE 


**  Concerning  the  calculations  of  probabilities, 
the  application  of  approximation  will  allow  ns 
to  estimate  the  capacity  or  the  probable  dura- 
tion of  things. 

*'We  can  not  say  positively  whether  a  man 
will  live  a  definite  number  of  years  but  we  can 
affirm  that  he  will  never  live  until  he  is  two 

hundred. 

**  There  are,  for  approbation,  certain  known 
limits  which  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  construc- 
tion of  reasoning,  inspired  by  common  sense. 

**It  can  be  affirmed,  in  a  positive  way,  that, 
if  the  trunk  of  a  tree  were  floating  easily,  with- 
out sinking  to  the  bottom  of  the  water,  it  would 
not  float  the  same  if  thirty  men  were  to  ride  as- 
tride of  it. 

* '  The  initial  weight  of  the  tree  permits  it  to 
maintain  itself  on  the  surface;  but  if  it  be  in- 
creased to  an  exaggerated  total,  we  can,  with- 
out hesitation,  calculate  indirectly  the  moment 
when  it  will  disappear,  dragging  with  it  the  im- 
prudent men  who  trusted  themselves  to  it. 

**  Everything  in  life  is  a  question  of  approxi- 

mation. 

*  *  The  house  which  is  built  for  a  man  will  be 
far  larger  than  the  kennel,  destined  to  shelter 
a  dog,  because  the  proportions  have  been  cal- 


HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT 


121 


culated,  by  approximation,  according  to  the 
relative  diJfference  between  the  stature  of  the 
human  and  canine  species. 

'*  Clothing  is  also  suited  to  the  temperature. 

**One  naturally  thinks  that,  below  a  certain 
degree  of  cold,  it  is  necessary  to  change  light 
clothes  for  those  made  of  thicker  material. 

**As  with  the  majority  of  the  constructive  ele- 
ments of  common  sense,  approximation  is  always 
based  on  experience. 

**It  draws  its  conclusions  from  the  knowledge 
of  known  limitations,  whose  affirmation  serves 
as  a  basis  for  the  argument  which  determines 
deduction  in  a  most  exact  manner. 

**  Experience  itself  depends  on  memory,  which 
permits  us  to  recall  facts  and  to  draw  our  con- 
clusions from  them,  on  which  facts  reasoning 
is  based." 

The  Shogun  does  not  fail  to  draw  our  atten- 
tion to  the  difference  between  experience  and 
experimentation. 

'*This  last,"  said  he,  **only  serves  to  incite  the 
manifestation  of  the  first. 

"It  consists  of  determining  the  production  of 
a  phenomenon  whose  existence  will  aid  us  in  es- 
tablishing the  underlying  principles  of  an  ob- 
servation which  interprets  the  event. 


ill 


im 


COMMON    SENSE 


((I 


(< 


That  is  what  is  called  experience. 
Comparison  is  a  mental  operation  which  per- 
mits us  to  bring  things  that  we  desire  to  under- 
stand to  a  certain  point. 

**It  is  comparison  which  has  divided  time  ac- 
cording to  periods,  which  the  moon  follows  dur- 
ing its  entire  length. 

''It  is  by  comparing  their  different  aspects 
and  by  calculating  the  duration  of  their  trans- 
formations, that  men  have  been  able  to  divide 
time  as  they  do  in  all  the  countries  of  the  world. 

*'The  science  of  numbers  is  also  born  of  com- 
parison, which  has  been  established  between  the 
quantities  that  they  represent. 

''This  is  the  art  of  calculating  the  differences 
existing  between  each  thing,  by  determining 
the  relativeness  of  their  respective  proportions. 

"Comparison  acts  on  the  mind  automatically, 

as  a  rule. 

"It  is  indispensable  to  the  cultivation  of  com- 
mon sense,  for  it  furnishes  the  means  of  judg- 
ing with  full  knowledge  of  all  the  circumstances. 

"Analysis  is  an  operation,  which  consists  of 
separating  each  detail  from  the  whole  and  of 
examining  these  details  separately,  without  los- 
ing sight  of  their  relationship  to  the  central  ele- 
ment. 


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123 


"Analysis  of  the  same  object,  while  being 
scrupulously  exact,  can,  however,  differ  mate- 
rially in  its  application,  according  to  the  way 
that  the  object  is  related  to  this  or  that  group  of 

circumstances. 

"There  are,  however,  immutable  things. 
"For  example :  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  the 
elementary  sounds,  the  colors  etc.,  etc. 

"It  suffices  to  quote  only  these  three  ele- 
ments ;  one  can  easily  understand  that  the  most 
elaborate  manuscript  is  composed  of  only  a 
definite  number  of  letters  always  repeating  them- 
selves, whose  juxtaposition  forms  phrases,  then 
chapters,  and  finally  the  complete  work. 

"Music  is  composed  only  of  seven  sounds 
whose  different  combinations  produce  an  infin- 
ite variety  of  melodies. 

"Elementary  colors  are  only  three  in  num- 
ber. 

"All  the  others  gravitate  around  them. 
"Therefore,   these  same  letters,   these  same 
notes,  these  same  colors,  according  to  their  amal- 
gamation, can  change  in  aspect  and  cooperate  in 
the  production  of  different  effects. 

"The  same  letters  can  express,  according  to 
the  order  in  which  they  are  placed,  terror  or 
confidence,  joy  or  grief. 


124 


COMMON    SENSE 


**The  same  is  true  of  notes  and  colors. 

'  *  Common  sense  ought  then,  considering  these 
rules,  to  know  how  to  analyze  all  the  details  and, 
having  done  this,  to  coordinate  and  to  classify 
them,  in  order  to  distinguish  them  easily. 

**  Coordination  and  classification  form  an  in- 
tegral  part  of  common  sense.'* 

And  Yoritomo,  who  delights  in  reducing  the 
most  complex  questions  to  examples  of  the  rar- 
est simplicity,  says  to  us: 

*'I  am  supposing  that  one  person  says  to  an- 
other, I  have  just  met  a  negro.  The  interlocutor, 
as  well  as  he  who  mechanically  registers  this  fact, 
without  thinking,  gives  himself  up  to  analysis 
and  to  coordination  which  always  precedes  syn- 
thesis. 

*' Without  being  aware  of  this  mental  action, 
their  minds  will  be  occupied  first  with  the  opera- 
tions of  perception  then  of  classification. 

**This  negro  was  a  man  of  a  color  which  places 
him  in  a  certain  group  of  the  human  race. 

**It  is  always  thus  that  common  sense  pro- 
ceeds, its  principal  merit  being  to  know  how 
to  unite  present  perceptions  with  those  pre- 
viously cognized,  then  to  understand  how  to 
coordinate  them  so  as  to  be  able  to  group  them 
concretely,  that  is  to  say,  to  synthesize  them. 


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125 


"Destination  is  defined  as  the  purpose  or 
object,  born  of  deduction  and  of  classification. 

**  Destination  does  not  permit  of  losing  sight 
of  the  end  which  is  proposed. 

**It  allows  the  consideration  of  the  purpose  to 
predominate  alwayc,  and  directs  all  actions  to- 
ward this  purpose,  these  actions  being  absolutely 
the  demonstrations  of  this  unique  thought. 

'*  Habits,  acquired  in  view  of  certain  reali- 
zations, ought  to  be  dropt  from  the  moment  the 
purpose  is  accomplished,  or  that  it  is  weak- 
ened." 

It  is  by  absolutely  perpetuating  those  habits, 
whose  pretext  has  disappeared,  that  one  sees 
the  achievement  of  certain  actions  which  have 
been  roughly  handled  by  common  sense. 

** There  are,"  again  says  the  philosopher, 
**  certain  customs,  whose  origin  it  is  impossible 
to  remember;  at  the  time  of  their  birth,  they 
were  engendered  by  necessity,  but  even  tho  their 
purpose  be  obliterated,  tradition  has  preserved 
them  in  spite  of  everything,  and  those  who  ob- 
serve them  do  not  take  into  consideration  their 
absurdity. 

'*  People  of  common  sense  refrain  from  lend- 
ing themselves  to  these  useless  practises,  or,  if 
they  consent  to  allow  them  a  place  in  their 


126 


COMMON   SENSE 


tiioughts  it  is  that  they  attribute  to  them  some 
reason  for  existence,  either  practical  or  senti- 
mental/' 

Direction  is  indicated  by  circumstances,  by 

environment,  or  by  necessity. 

There  is  direction  of  resolutions  as  well  as 
direction  of  a  journey;  it  is  necessary,  from 
the  beginning,  to  consider  well  the  choice  of  a 
good  route,  after  having  done  everything  pos- 
sible to  discriminate  carefully  between  it  and  aU 
other  routes  proposed. 

It  happens,  however,  that  the  way  leads  also 
through  the  cross-roads;  it  is  even  indispens- 
able  to  leave  the  short  cuts  in  order  to  trace  the 
outline  of  the  obstacles. 

Direction  is,  then,  an  important  factor  in  the 
acquiring  of  common  sense. 

The  putting  of  the  question  takes  its  char- 
acter from  comparison,  from  experience,  and 
principally  from  approximation ;  but  it  is  in  it- 
self a  synthesis  of  aU  the  elements  which  com- 
pose common  sense. 

He  who  wishes  to  acquire  common  sense  should 
be  impregnated  with  all  that  has  preceded. 

Then  he  will  discipline  himself,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  judge,  by  himself,  of  the  degree  of  rea- 
son which  he  has  the  right  to  assume. 


HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT 


m 


iC, 


Ci> 


He  will  begin  by  evoking  some  subject,  com- 
paring its  visual  forms  with  those  forms  which 
he  understands  the  best,  in  other  words,  to  the 
perceptions  which  are  the  most  familiar  to  him. 

If  it  concerns  a  question  to  be  solved,  he  will 
try  to  recall  some  similar  subject,  and  establish 
harmony,  by  making  them  both  relative  to  a 
common  antecedent. 

Yoritomo  advises  choosing  simple  thoughts 
for  the  beginning. 

One  will  say,  for  example: 
Such  a  substance  is  a  poison;  the  seeds  of 
this  fruit  contain  a  weak  dose  of  it ;  these  seeds 
could  then  become  a  dangerous  food,  if  one  ab- 
sorbed a  considerable  quantity. 

*^  Common  sense  will  thus  indicate  a  certain 
abstaining  from  eating  of  it. 

' '  Then  one  may  extend  his  argument  to  things 
of  a  greater  importance,  but  taking  great  care 
to  keep  within  the  narrow  limits  of  rudimen- 
tary logic. 

''One  must  be  impregnated  with  this  prin- 
ciple : 

*  *  Two  things  equal  to  a  third  demand  an  affir- 
mative judgment  or  decision. 

**In  the  opposite  case  the  negative  deduction 

is  enjoiaed. 
V.9 


128 


COMMON    SENSE 


*'It  is  by  deductions  from  the  most  ordinary- 
facts  that  one  succeeds  in  making  common  sense 
intervene  automatically  in  all  our  judgments. 

**What  would  be  thought  of  one  who,  finding 
himself  in  a  forest  at  the  time  of  a  violent 
storm,  would  reason  as  follows: 

*' First:    The  high  summits  attract  lightning. 

*^ Secondly:  Here  is  a  giant  tree. 

* '  Thirdly :   I  am  going  to  take  refuge  there. 

*^Then  it  is  that  common  sense  demands  that 
he  state  his  three  propositions  as  follows: 

*' First:   High  summits  attract  lightning. 

*' Secondly:   Here  is  a  giant  tree. 

''Thirdly:  I  am  going  to  avoid  its  proximity 
because  it  will  surely  be  dangerous. 

''If  he  acted  otherwise;  if,  in  spite  of  his 
knowledge  of  the  danger,  he  took  shelter  under 
the  branches  of  the  gigantic  tree,  exposing  him- 
self to  be  struck  by  lightning,  one  could,  in  this 
case,  only  reproach  him  with  imprudence  and 
lay  the  blame  to  the  lack  of  common  sense 
which  allowed  him  to  perform  the  act  that  logic 
condemned." 

Now  the  old  Nippon  speaks  to  us  of  the  means 
to  employ,  that  we  may  avoid  pronouncing  too 
hasty  judgments,  which  are  always,  of  neces- 
sity, weakened  by  a  too  great  indulgence  for 


HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT 


129 


ourselves  and  at  the  same  time  too  great  a 
severity  for  others. 

"I  was  walking  one  day,"  said  he,  "on  the 
shores  of  a  lake,  when  I  discovered  a  man  sit- 
ting at  the  foot  of  a  bamboo  tree,  in  an  attitude 
of  the  greatest  despair. 

"Approaching  him,  I  asked  him  the  cause  of 

his  grief. 

*'  'Alas!'  said  he  to  me,  'the  gods  are  against 
me ;  everything  which  I  undertake  fails,  and  all 
evils  crush  me. 

*'  'After  the  one  which  has  just  befallen  me 
only  one  course  of  action  is  left  to  me,  to  throw 
myself  in  the  lake.  But  I  am  young,  and  I  am 
weeping  for  myself  before  resolving  to  take  such 
a  step.' 

"And  he  related  to  me  how,  after  many  at- 
tempts without  success,  he  had  at  last  gained 
a  certain  sum  of  money,  the  loss  of  which  he  had 
just  experienced. 

"  'In  what  way  did  you  lose  it?'  I  asked  him. 

*'  'I  put  it  in  this  bag.' 

**  'Has  some  one  stolen  it?' 

*"No,  it  has  slipt  through  this  rent.' 

"And  he  showed  me  a  bag,  whose  ragged 
condition  confirmed,  and  at  the  same  time  il- 
lustrated his  statement. 


180 


COMMON    SENSE 


It  (- 


(( (- 


i(  <i 


'Listen/  said  I,  sitting  down  beside  him, 
'you  are  simply  devoid  of  common  sense,  by 
invoking  the  hatred  of  the  gods !  You  alone  are 
the  cause  of  your  present  misery. 

**  *If  you  had  simply  reasoned  before  placing 
your  money  in  this  bag,  this  would  not  have  hap- 
pened to  you.' 

**And  as  he  opened  his  eyes  wide: 

'You  would  have  thought  this,'  I  resumed: 
The  material,  very  much  worn,  is  incapable 
of  standing  any  weight  without  tearing. 

**  *Now,  the  money  which  I  possess  is  heavy, 
my  bag  is  worn  out. 

'*  'I  shall  not,  therefore,  put  my  money  in 
this  bag  or,  at  least,  I  shall  take  care  to  line  it 
beforehand  with  a  solid  piece  of  leather. 

**  *From  this  moment,'  I  proceeded,  'there 
only  remains  one  thing  for  you  to  do,  always 
consult  common  sense  before  coming  to  any  con- 
clusion, and  you  will  always  succeed. 

**  *As  for  your  opinion  concerning  the  hatred 
of  the  gods  for  you,  if  you  will  once  more  call 
common  sense  to  your  assistance  you  will  reason 
as  follows: 

**  *  Gracious  divinities  protect  only  wise 
people. 

"  *Now,  I  have  acted  like  a  fooL 


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131 


"  'It  is,  therefore,  natural  that  they  should 
turn  away  from  me.' 

**How  many  useless  imprecations  would  be 
avoided,"  adds  the  Shogun,  '4f  it  were  given 
to  men  to  know  how  to  employ  the  arguments 
which  common  sense  dictates,  in  order  to  dis- 
tribute the  weight  of  the  mistakes  committed 
among  those  who  deserve  the  burden,  without, 
at  the  same  time,  forgetting  to  assume  our  own 
share  of  the  responsibility  if  we  have  erred. 

''Nothing  is  more  sterile  than  regrets  or  re- 
proaches, when  they  do  not  carry  with  them  the 
resolution  never  again  to  fall  into  the  same 

error." 

Afterward  the  philosopher  demonstrates  to 
us  the  necessity  of  abstracting  all  personality 
from  the  exercises  which  combine  for  the  attain- 
ment of  common  sense. 

"There  is,"  said  he,  "an  obstacle  against 
which  all  stupid  people  stumble;  it  is  the  act 
of  reasoning  under  the  influence  of  passion. 

"Those  who  have  not  decided  to  renounce 
this  method  of  arguing  will  never  be  able  to 
give  a  just  decision. 

"There  are  self-evident  facts,  which  certain 
people  refuse  to  admit,  because  this  statement 
of  the  truth  offends  their  sympathies  or  im- 


132 


COMMON    SENSE 


pedes  their  hatreds,  and  they  force  themselves 
to  deny  the  evidence,  hoping  thus  to  deceive 
others  regarding  it. 

*'But  truth  is  always  the  strongest  and  they 
soon  become  the  solitary  dupes  of  their  own 
wilful  blindness. 

**The  man  of  common  sense  knows  how  to  rec- 
ognize falsehood  wherever  he  meets  it;  he 
kuows  how  vain  it  is  to  conceal  a  positive  fact 
'  and  also  how  dangerous  it  is  to  deceive  oneself, 
a  peril  which  increases  in  power,  in  proportion 
to  the  effort  made  to  ignore  it. 

**He  does  not  wish  to  imitate  those  pusillani- 
mous people  who  prefer  to  live  in  the  agony 
of  doubt  rather  than  to  look  misfortunes  in  the 
face.  He  who  is  determined  to  acquire  common 
sense  will  use  the  following  argument : 

**  Doubt  is  a  conflict  between  two  conclusions. 

''So  long  as  it  exists  it  is  impossible  to  adopt 
either. 

''Serenity  is  unknown  to  those  whom  doubt 
attacks. 

"To  obtain  peace,  it  is  necessary  to  become 
enlightened. 

"However,  it  is  wise  always  to  foresee  the 
least  happy  issue  and  to  prepare  to  support 
the  consequences. 


HOW  TO  ACQUIRE  IT 


133 


"The  man  who  thinks  thus  will  be  stronger 
ithan  adversity  and  will  know  how  to  struggle 
^with  misfortune  without  allowing  it  to  master 

him." 

It  is  in  these  terms  that  Yoritomo  initiates  us 
into  what  he  calls  the  mechanism  of  common 
sense,  in  other  words  the  art  of  acquiring  by 
the  simplest  reasoning  this  quality  dull  as  iron, 
but,  like  it,  also  solid  and  durable. 


LESSON  IX 

COMMON  SENSE  AND  ACTION 

These  qualities  are  two  relatives  very  near 
of  kin ;  but,  just  for  this  reason,  they  must  not 
be  confounded. 

While  common  sense  is  applied  to  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  life,  practical  sense  is  applicable 
to  useful  things. 

Common  sense  admits  a  very  subtle  logic 
which  is,  at  times,  a  little  complex. 

Practical  sense  reasons,  starting  from  one 
point  only;  viz.,  material  conveniences. 

It  is  possible  for  this  sense  to  be  spoiled  by 
egotism,  if  common  sense  does  not  come  to  its 
assistance. 

It  is  by  applying  the  discipline  of  reasoning 
to  practical  sense  that  it  modifies  simple  sense 
perception  by  urging  it  to  ally  itself  with  logic, 
which  unites  thought  to  sentiment  and  reason. 

**The  association  of  common  sense  and  prac- 
tical sense  is  necessary,"  says  Yoritomo,  **in 
order  to  produce  new  forms,  at  the  same  time 
restraining  the  imagination  within  the  limits  of 

134 


AND   ACTION 


135 


1 


the  most  exact  deductions  and  of  the  most  im- 
partial judgment." 

Science  is,  in  reality,  a  sort  of  common  sense 
to  which  the  rules  of  reasoning  are  applied,  and 
is  supported  by  arguments  which  practical  sense 
directs  into  productive  channels. 

That  which  is  called  great  common  sense  is 
none  other  than  a  quality  with  which  people  are 
endowed  who  show  great  mental  equilibrium 
whenever  it  is  a  question  of  resolving  material 
problems. 

These  people  are  generally  country  people  or 
persons  of  humble  position,  whose  physical  or- 
ganism has  been  developed  without  paying  much 
attention  to  their  intellectual  education;  they 
are,  in  fact,  perfect  candidates  for  the  attain- 
ment of  common  sense,  without  having  been 
educated  to  this  end. 

Their  aptitude  results  from  a  constant  habit 
of  reflection  which,  rendering  their  attention 
very  keen,  has  permitted  them  to  observe  the 
most  minute  details,  therefore  they  can  form 
correct  conclusions,  when  it  is  a  question  of 
things  that  are  familiar  to  them. 

A  peasant  who  has  been  taught  by  nature  will 
be  more  skilled  in  prophesying  about  the 
weather  than  others. 


- 1, 


136 


COMMON    SENSE 


He  will  also  know  how  to  assign  a  limit  to 
the  daily  working  hours,  at  the  same  time 
stating  the  maximum  time  which  one  can  give 
without  developing  repulsion,  which  follows 
excesses  of  all  kinds. 

In  his  thought,  very  simple,  but  very  direct, 
will  be  formulated  this  perfect  reasoning: 

Health  is  the  first  of  all  blessings,  since  with- 
out it  we  are  incapable  of  appreciating  the 
other  joys  of  life. 

If  I  compromise  this  possession  I  shall  be  in- 
sensible to  all  others. 

It  is,  therefore,  indispensable  that  I  should 
measure  my  efforts,  for,  admitting  that  a  cer- 
tain exaggerated  labor  brings  me  a  fortune,  I 
shall  not  know  how  to  enjoy  it  if  illness  accom- 
panies it. 

This  is  the  logic  which  is  called  practical 
sense. 

Yoritomo  continues,  saying  that  there  is  a 
very  close  connection  between  the  faculty  of 
judging  and  that  of  deducing. 

**  Practical  sense,  allied  to  common  sense, 
comes  to  the  assistance  of  the  latter,  when  it  is 
tempted  to  reject  the  chain  of  analogy,  whose 
representation  too  often  draws  one  far  from  the 
initial  subject. 


AND    ACTION 


137 


(( 


^It  facilitates  coordination,  clearness,  and 
precision  of  thought. 

**It  knows  how  to  consider  contingencies,  and 
never  fails  to  have  a  clear  understanding  of 
relative  questions." 

And  to  illustrate  his  theory,  he  cites  us  an 
example  which  many  of  our  young  contempor- 
aries would  do  well  to  remember. 

*' There  was,''  said  he,  *4n  the  village  of 
Fu-Isher,  a  literary  man,  who  wrote  beautiful 
poems. 

**He  lived  in  great  solitude,  and  no  one  would 
have  heard  of  his  existence  if  it  had  not  been 
that  my  master,  Lang-Ho,  while  walking  in 
the  woods  one  day,  was  attracted  by  the  har- 
monious sounds  of  poetry,  which  this  young 
man  was  reciting,  without  thinking  that  he  had 
any  other  listeners  than  the  birds  of  the  forest. 

*^  Lang-Ho  made  himself  known  to  him  and 
began  to  question  him. 

**He  learned  that  he  did  not  lack  ambition, 
but,  being  poor,  and  having  no  means  of  ap- 
proaching those  who  would  have  been  able  to 
patronize  him,  he  was  singing  of  nature  for  his 
own  pleasure,  waiting  patiently  until  he  should 
be  able  to  influence  the  powerful  ones  of  the 
earth  to  share  his  appreciation. 


138 


COMMON    SENSE 


"Lang-Ho,  touched  by  his  youth  and  his 
ardor,  pointed  out  to  him  the  dwelling  of  a 
prince,  a  patron  of  the  arts,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  told  him  how  he  ought  to  address  the 
nobleman,  assuring  him  that  the  fact  of  his  being 
a  messenger  from  a  friend  of  the  prince  would 
open  the  doors  of  the  palace  to  him. 

' '  The  next  day  the  young  poet  presented  him- 
self at  the  home  of  the  great  lord,  who,  know- 
ing that  he  had  been  sent  by  Lang-Ho,  received 
him  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  suffering 
intensely  from  a  violent  headache. 

''He  learned  from  the  young  man  that  he  was 
a  poet  and  treated  him  with  great  considera- 
tion, making  him  understand,  however,  that  all 
sustained   mental   effort   was   insupportable  to 

him  on  that  day. 

**But  the  poet,  not  paying  attention  to  the 
prince's  exprest  desire,  unrolled  his  manuscripts 
and  began  reading  an  interminable  ode  without 
noticing  the  signs  of  impatience  shown  by  his 
august  hearer. 

**He  did  not  have  the  pleasure  of  finishing  it. 

''The  prince,  seeing  that  the  reader  did  not 
understand  his  importunity,  struck  a  gong  and 
ordered  the  servant  who  appeared  to  conduct 
the  young  man  out  of  his  presence. 


AND   ACTION 


139 


* 'Later,  he  declared  to  Lang-Ho  that  his 
protege  had  no  talent  at  all,  and  reprimanded 
him  severely  for  having  sent  the  poet  to  the 

palace. 

''But  my  master  did  not  like  to  be  thus 

criticized. 

"So,  a  little  while  after  chat,  one  day,  when 
that  same  prince  was  in  an  agreeable  frame  of 
mind,  Lang-Ho  invited  him  to  the  reading  of 
one  of  his  works. 

"The  nobleman  declared  that  he  had  never 
heard  anything  more  beautiful. 

'"That  is  true,'  said  Lang-Ho,  *but  you 
ought  to  have  said  this  the  first  time  you  heard 

it.' 

"And  he  revealed  to  the  prince  that  these 
verses  were  those  of  the  young  man  whom  he 
had  judged  so  harshly." 

From  this  story  two  lessons  may  be  drawn : 

The  first  is,  that  if  common  sense  indicates 
that  judgment  should  not  change  from  scorn 
to  enthusiasm,  when  it  is  a  question  of  the  same 
object,  practical  sense  insists  that  one  should  be 
certain  of  impartiality  of  judgment,  by  avoiding 
the  influence  of  questions  which  relate  to  en- 
vironment and  surrounding  circumstances. 

The  second  concerns  opportunity. 


140 


COMMON    SENSE 


We  have  already  had  occasion  to  say  how 
much  some  things,  which  seem  desirable  at  cer- 
tain times,  are  questionable  when  the  situation 
changes. 

Bad  humor  creates  ill-will;  therefore  it  is 
abominably  stupid  to  provoke  the  manifestation 
of  the  second  when  one  has  proved  the  exist- 
ence of  the  first. 

In  order  that  there  may  be  a  connection  be- 
tween the  faculty  of  judgment  and  that  of  de- 
duction, it  is  essential  that  nothing  should  be 
allowed  to  interpose  itself  between  these  two 
phases  of  the  argument. 

Harmony  between  all  judgments  is  founded 
on  common  sense,  but  it  is  practical  common 
sense,  which  indicates  this  harmony  with  pre- 
cision. 

It  is  also  practical  common  sense  which  serves 
as  a  guide  to  the  orator  who  wishes  to  impress 
his  audience. 

He  will  endeavor  first  to  choose  a  subject 
which  will  interest  those  who  listen  to  him. 

In  this  endeavor  he  ought,  above  all,  to  con- 
sult opportunity. 

And,  as  we  have  remarked  on  many  occa- 
sions, the  Shogun  expresses  theories  on  this  sub- 
ject, to  which  the  people  of  the  twentieth  cen- 


AND    ACTION 


141 


tury  could  not  give  too  much  earnest  consider- 
ation. 

** There  are,"  said  he,  ''social  questions,  as, 
for  example,  dress  and  custom. 

*'With  time,  opinions  change,  as  do  forms  and 
manners,  and  this  is  quite  reasonable. 

''The  progress  of  science  by  ameliorating  the 
general  conditions  of  existence,  introduces  a 
need  created  by  civilization  which  rejects  bar- 
barous customs;  the  mentality  of  a  warrior  is 
not  that  of  an  agriculturist ;  the  man  who  thinks 
about  making  his  possessions  productive  has  not 
the  same  inclinations  as  he  whose  life  is  de- 
voted to  conquest,  and  the  sweetness  of  living 
in  serenity,  by  modifying  the  aspirations,  meta- 
morphoses all  things. 

"In  order  to  lead  attention  in  the  direction 
which  is  governed  by  reason,  it  is  indispensable 
for  the  orator  that  he  should  expound  a  subject 
whose  interpretation  will  satisfy  the  demand  of 
opportunity,  which  influences  every  brain. 

"Practical  sense  will  make  him  take  care  to 
speak  only  of  things  that  he  has  studied  thor- 
oughly. 

"It  will  induce  him  to  expound  his  theory 
in  such  a  way  that  his  hearers  will  have  to  make 
no  effort  to  assimilate  it. 


142 


COMMON    SENSE 


*  *  That  which  is  not  understood  is  easily  criti- 
cized, and  practical  sense  would  prevent  an 
orator  from  attempting  to  establish  an  argu- 
ment   whose    premises   would    offend    common 

sense. 

'*He  would  be  certain  of  failure  in  such  a 

case. 

' '  His  efforts  will  be  limited,  then,  to  evoking 
common  sense,  by  employing  practical  sense, 
so  far  as  what  refers  to  the  application  of 
principles  which  he  desires  to  apply  success- 
fully.'' 

Yoritomo  recommends  this  affiliation  for  that 

which  concerns  the  struggle  against  supersti- 
tion. 

** Superstition,"  he  says,  ^^ offends  practical 
sense  as  well  as  common  sense,  for  it  rests  on 
an  erroneous  analysis. 

**Its  foundation  is  always  an  observation 
marred  by  falsity,  establishing  an  association 
between    two    facts    which    have    nothing    in 

common. 

' '  There  are  people  who  reenter  their  homes  if, 
when  they  reach  the  threshold,  they  perceive  a 
certain  bird;  others  believe  that  they  are 
threatened  with  death  if  they  meet  a  white  cat." 

Without  going  back  to  the  days  of  Yoritomo, 


AND   ACTION 


14^ 


we  shall  find  just  as  many  people  who  are  the 
victims  of  superstitions  concerning  certain 
facts,  which  are  only  the  observance  of  customs 
fallen  into  disuse,  and  whose  practise  has  been 
perpetuated  through  the  ages,  altho,  as  we  have 
said  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  purpose  of 
the  custom  has  disappeared,  but  the  custom  it- 
self has  not  been  forgotten. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  the  origin  of  the  super- 
stition concerning  salt  dates  back  to  the  time 
of  the  Romans,  who  (while  at  variance  with  the 
principles  of  contemporary  agriculture)  sowed 
salt  in  the  fields  of  their  enemies  and  thought 
that  by  so  doing  they  would  make  them  sterile. 

To  that  far-distant  epoch  can  be  traced  the 
origin  of  the  superstition  concerning  the  spill- 
ing of  salt. 

Whatever  may  have  been  its  cause,  super- 
stition is  the  enemy  of  common  sense,  for,  when 
it  does  not  originate  in  an  abolished  custom,  it 
is  the  product  of  a  personal  impression,  asso- 
ciating two  ideas  absolutely  unconnected. 

'Practical  sense,"  Yoritomo  continues,  ''is  a 
most  valuable  talent  to  cultivate,  for  it  pre- 
vents our  judging  from  appearances. 

**  Frivolous  minds  are  always  inclined  to  draw 
conclusions    from    passing    impressions;    they 

V.IO 


lU 


COMMON    SENSE 


adopt  neither  foresight,  nor  precaution,  nor  ap- 
proximation. 

*' There  are  people  who  will  condemn  a  coun- 
try as  utterly  unattractive,  because  they  hap- 
pened to  have  visited  it  under  unfavorable  cir- 
cumstances. 

*' Others,  without  considering  what  a  country 
has  previously  produced,  and  that  at  present 
the  grain  has  not  been  planted,  will  declare  un- 
fertile the  soil  which  has  been  untilled  for 
some  months. 

*'0n  the  other  hand,  if  they  visit  a  house  on 
a  sunny  day,  it  would  be  impossible  for  them 
to  associate  it  with  the  idea  of  rain. 

**It  would  be  most  difficult  to  make  these 
people  alter  their  judgment,  prematurely 
formed,  and,  in  spite  of  the  most  authoritative 
assertions  and  the  most  self-evident  proofs,  their 
initial  idea  will  dominate  all  those  which  one 
would  like  to  instil  into  their  minds. 

**One  moment  would,  however,  suffice  for 
reason  to  convince  them  that  the  variations  of 
atmosphere  and  the  conditions  of  cultivation 
can  modify  the  aspect  of  a  country,  of  a  field, 
and  of  a  house,  to  the  extent  of  giving  them  an 
appearance  totally  different  from  the  one  which 
they  seemed  to  have. 


AND   ACTION 


145 


**But  he  who  judges  by  appearances  never 
rejoices  in  the  possession  of  that  faculty  which 
may  be  called  reason  in  imagination. 

''This  is  a  gift,  developed  by  practical  sense 
and  which  common  sense  happily  directs  in 
right  channels 

''Those  who  are  endowed  with  this  faculty 
can,  with  the  help  of  reasoning,  and  by  means 
of  thought,  build  up  a  future  reality  based  on 
a  judgment  whose  affirmation  admits  of  no  doubt. 

"  It  is  not  a  question  of  hypothesis,  no  matter 
how  well-founded  it  is. 

"Experience,  in  this  case,  is  united  with  de- 
duction to  form  a  preconceived  but  certain  idea. 

"By  cultivating  practical  sense,  we  shall  es- 
cape the  danger  of  idealization  which,  with 
people  of  unbalanced  mentality,  often  sheds  an 
artificial  light  upon  the  picture." 

There  is  still  another  point  to  which  Yori- 
tomo  calls  our  attention,  in  order  to  encourage 
us  to  cultivate  the  twin  reasoning  powers  whose 
advantages  we  are  trying  to  commend  in  this 

chapter : 

"Practical  sense,"  says  he,  "sometimes  puts 
common  sense  apparently  in  the  wrong,  while 
acting,  however,  without  the  inspiration  of  the 
latter. 


146 


COMMON    SENSE 


''This  happens  when  it  is  an  advantage,  for 
the  perfect  equilibrium  of  the  projects  in  ques- 
tion, that  it  should  be  maintained  at  the  same 
pitch,  in  order  that  it  may  be  understood  by  all. 

'*In  the  legendary  days,  snow  the  color  of  fire 
once  fell  on  the  inhabitants  of  a  little  village,  who 
were  all  about  to  attend  a  religious  ceremony. 

*'One  man  alone,  an  old  philosopher,  had  re- 
mained at  home  because,  at  the  time  they  were 
to  leave,  he  suddenly  fell  ill. 

''When  his  sufferings  were  relieved,  he  started 
out  to  join  the  others  and  found  them  commit- 
ting all  sorts  of  follies. 

*'Two  among  them  were  reviling  one  another, 
€ach  one  claiming  that  he  was  the  only  king. 

*'Some  were  weeping  because  they  thought 
that  they  were  changed  into  beasts. 

''Others  were  screaming,  without  rime  or 
reason,  now  embracing  each  other,  now  attack- 
ing one  another  furiously. 

"Soon  the  wise  man  recognized  that  they 
had  been  affected  by  the  fall  of  snow,  which  had 
made  them  crazy,  and  he  tried  to  speak  to  them 
in  the  language  of  reason. 

"But  all  these  crazy  people  turned  on  him, 
trying  out  that  he  had  just  lost  his  reason  and 
that  he  must  be  shut  away. 


AND   ACTION 


U7 


"They  undertook  the  task  of  taking  him  back 
to  his  home,  but,  as  that  was  not  to  be  accom- 
plished without  rough  usage,  he  assumed  the 
part  indicated  by  practical  sense;  this  man  of 
common  sense  feigned  insanity,  and  from  the 
moment  the  insane  people  thought  that  he  re- 
sembled them  they  let  him  alone  and  ceased  to 

torment  him. 

' '  The  philosopher  profited  by  this  fact  to  dis- 
arm their  excitement,  and,  little  by  little,  all  the 
time  indulging  in  a  thousand  eccentricities, 
which  had  no  other  object  than  to  protect  him- 
self against  them,  he  demonstrated  their  aber- 
ration to  them." 

Could  not  this  story  serve  as  an  example  to 
the  majority  of  contemporary  critics? 

Is  it  not  often  necessary  to  appear  to  be 
denuded  of  common  sense,  to  make  the  voice  of 

reason  dominate  t 

In  the  fable  of  Yoritomo,  his  philosopher 
proved  his  profound  knowledge  of  the  human 
heart,  while  he  put  in  practise  the  power  of 
practical  sense  in  apparent  opposition,  however, 
to  common  sense. 

We  said  this  at  the  opening  of  the  chapter: 
practical  sense  and  common  sense  are  two  very 
near  relatives,  but  they  are  two  and  not  one. 


LESSON  X 

THE  MOST  THOROUGH   BUSINESS 

MAN 

One  of  the  principle  advantages  of  common 
sense  is  that  it  protects  the  man  who  is  gifted 
with  it  from  hazardous  enterprises,  the  risky 
character  of  which  he  scents. 

Only  to  risk  when  possessing  perfect  knowl- 
edge of  a  subject  is  the  sure  means  of  never 
being  drawn  into  a  transaction  by  illusory  hopes. 

An  exact  conception  of  things  is  more  in- 
dispensable to  perfect  success  than  a  thousand 
other  more  brilliant  but  less  substantial  gifts. 

"However,"  says  Yoritomo,  **in  order  to 
make  success  our  own,  it  is  not  sufficient  to 
have  the  knowledge  of  things,  one  must  above 
all  know  oneself. 

'*0n  the  great  world-stage,  each  one  occupies 
a  place  which  at  the  start  may  not  always  be 
in  the  first  rank. 

**  Nevertheless,  work,  intelligence,  directness 
of  thought  and,  above  all,  common  sense,  can 

148 


THE  THOROUGH  BUSINESS  MAN     149 

exert  a  positive  influence  on  the  future  superi- 
ority of  the  situation. 

*^  Before  everything  else,  it  is  indispensable 
that  we  should  never  delude  ourselves  about 
the  position  which  we  occupy. 

'*To  define  it  exactly,  one  should  call  to  mmd 
the  wise  adage  which  says:  Know  thyself. 
**But  this  knowledge  is  rare. 
'^Presumptuous  persons  readily  imagine  that 
they  attract  the  eyes  of  every  one,  even  if  they 
be  in  the  last  rank. 

**  Timid  persons  will  hide  themselves  behind 
others  and,  notwithstanding,  they  are  very 
much  aggrieved  not  to  be  seen. 

**  Ambitious  persons  push  away  the  trouble- 
some  ones,  in  order  that  they  themselves  may 
get  the  first  places. 

''Lazy  persons  just  let  them  do  it. 
"Irresolute  persons  hesitate  before  sitting 
down  in  vacant  places  and  are  consumed  with 
regrets  from  the  time  they  perceive  that  others, 
better  prepared,  take  possession  of  them;  the 
more  so  as  they  no  longer  get  back  their  own 
for,  during  their  hesitation,  another  has  seated 

himself  there. 

"Enthusiasts  fight  to  reach  the  first  rank, 
but  are  so  fatigued  by  their  violent  struggles 


150 


COMMON    SENSE 


that  they  fall,  tired  out,  before  they  have  at- 
tained their  object. 

'*  Obstinate  people  persist  in  coveting  inac- 
cessible places  and  spend  strength  without  re- 
sults, which  they  might  have  employed  more 
judiciously. 

**  People  of  common  sense  are  the  only  ones 
who  experience  no  nervous  tension  because  of 
this  struggle. 

**They  calculate  their  chances,  compute  the 
time,  do  not  disturb  themselves  uselessly,  and 
never  abandon  their  present  position  until  they 
have  a  firm  grasp  on  the  following  place. 

*'They  do  not  seek  to  occupy  a  rank  which 
their  knowledge  would  not  permit  them  to  keep ; 
they  draw  on  that  faculty  with  which  they  are 
gifted  to  learn  the  science  of  true  proportion. 

**They  do  not  meddle  in  endeavors  to  reform 
laws;  they  submit  to  them,  by  learning  how  to 
adapt  them  to  their  needs,  and  respect  them  by 
seeking  to  subordinate  their  opinion  to  the  prin- 
ciple on  which  they  are  based. 

'*  Persons  who  have  no  common  sense  are  the 
only  ones  to  revolt  against  the  laws  of  the 
country  where  they  live. 

*'The  wise  man  will  recognize  that  they  have 
been  enacted  to  protect  him  and  that  to  be 


THE  THOROUGH  BUSINESS  MAN     151 

opposed  to  their  observance  would  be  acting 
as  an  enemy  to  oneself." 

However,  people  will  say,  if  laws  are  so  im- 
peccable in  their  right  to  authority,  how  is  it 
that  their  interpretation  leads  so  often  to  dis- 
putes 1 

It  is  easy  to  reply  that  lawsuits  are  rarely 
instituted  by  men  of  common  sense ;  they  leave 
this  burden  to  people  of  evil  intent,  who  imagine 
thus  to  make  a  doubtful  cause  triumph. 

It  must  be  conceded  that  this  means  succeeds 
at  times  with  them,  when  they  are  dealing  with 
timid  or  irresolute  persons ;  but  those  who  have 
contracted  the  habit  of  reasoning,  and  who  never 
undertake  anything  without  consulting  common 
sense,  will  never  allow  themselves  to  be  drawn 
into  the  by-paths  of  sophistry. 

If  they  are  forced  to  enter  there  temporarily, 
in  order  to  pursue  the  adversary,  who  has  hidden 
himself  there,  they  will  leave  these  paths  as  soon 
as  necessity  does  not  force  them  to  remain  there 
longer  and  with  delight  regain  the  broad  road 

of  rectitude. 

A  few  pages  further  on  we  find  a  reflection 
which  the  Shogun,  always  faithful  to  his  prin- 
ciples of  high  morality,  specially  addresses  to 
those  who  make  a  profession  of  humility. 


152  COMMON    SENSE 

** Obedience,"  he  says,  *' ought  to  he  con- 
sidered as  a  means ;  hut,  for  the  one  who  wishes 
to  succeed,  in  no  sense  can  it  he  honored  as  a 

virtue. 

**  If  it  he  a  question  of  submission  to  law, 
that  is  nothing  else  but  the  performance  of  a 
strict  duty;  this  is  a  kind  of  compact  which 
the  man  of  common  sense  concludes  with  so- 
ciety, to  which  he  promises  his  support  for  the 
maintenance  of  a  protection  from  which  he  will 
be  the  first  to  benefit. 

'*This  obedience  might  be  set  down  as  selfish- 
ness were  it  not  endorsed  by  common  sense. 

**  There  are  people,  it  is  true,  who,  even  altho 
wishing  to  support  their  neighbor  when  called 
upon  to  do  so  by  the  law,  seek  to  evade  this 
duty  if  left  to  themselves. 

**  These  are  pirates  who  have  broken  com- 
pletely not  only  with  the  spirit  of  equity,  but 
also  with  simple  common  sense. 

*at  is  always  foolish  to  set  the  example  of 
insubordination,  for,  if  it  were  followed,  it  would 
not  be  long  before  general  disorder  would  appear. 
' '  Some  men  were  sitting  one  day  on  the  edge 
of  an  inlet  and  were  trying  with  a  net  to  catch 
fish,  whose  playful  movements  the  men  were  fol- 
lowing through  the  limpid  water. 


THE  THOROUGH  BUSINESS  MAN     153 

**  According  to  their  character,  their  perse- 
verance, their  cleverness,  and  the  ingenuity  of 
the  means  employed,  they  caught  a  proportion- 
ate number  of  fish ;  but  those  who  caught  the 
least  had  one  or  two. 

**This  success  encouraged  them,  and  they 
began  again  in  good  earnest,  each  one  in  his 
own  way,  when  a  stranger  appeared;  he  was 
armed  with  a  long  branch  of  a  tree,  which  he 
plunged  in  the  pond,  touching  the  bottom  and 
stirring  up  the  mud,  which,  as  it  scattered,  rose 
to  the  surface  of  the  water. 

**The  limpidity  of  the  water  was  immediately 
changed;  one  could  no  longer  see  the  fish,  and 
the  fishermen  decided  to  discontinue  their  sport. 

'^But  the  man  only  laughed  at  their  discom- 
fiture and,  brandishing  a  large  net,  he  threw  it 
in  his  turn,  chaffing  them  at  the  patient  cunning 
by  which  they  had,  he  said,  taken  such  a  poor 

haul. 

**He  brought  up  some  fish,  it  is  true,  but  at 
each  haul  he  was  obliged  to  lose  so  much  time 
in  removing  the  impurities,  the  debris,  and  the 
weeds  of  all  kinds  from  the  net  that  very  soon 
the  fishermen  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  him 
punished  for  his  mean  conduct. 

'*What  he  took  was  scarcely  more  than  what 


154f  COMMON    SENSE 

the  smartest  among  them  had  taken,  and  his 
net,  filthy  from  the  mud,  torn  by  the  roots  that 
he  was  unable  to  avoid,  was  soon  good  for  noth- 

Might  it  not  be  from  this  fable  that  we  have 
taken  the  expression,  *Ho  fish  in  troubled 
waters,''  of  which  without  a  doubt  the  good 
Yoritomo  furnished  the  origin  many,  many  cen- 
turies ago?  ,     . 

His  prophetic  mind  is  unveiled  again  m  the 
following  advice  that  not  a  business  man  of  the 
twentieth  century  would  reject. 

** Common  sense,"  he  says,  ''when  it  is  a 
question  of  the  relations  of  men  as  to  what  con- 
cerns business  or  society,  ought  to  adopt  the 
characteristic  of  that  animal  called  the  cha- 
meleon. 1.       -£4. 

*^His  natural  color  is  dull,  but  he  has  the  gift 
of  reflecting  the  color  of  the  objects  on  which  he 

I*6sts 

^'Near  a  leaf,  he  takes  the  tint  of  hope. 
**0n  a  lotus,  he  is  glorified  with  the  blue  of 

the  skv* 

"Is  this  to  say  that  his  nature  changes  to 
the  point  of  modifying  his  natural  color? 

*'No;  he  does  not  cease  to  possess  that  which 
recalls  the  color  of  the  ground,  and  the  ephem- 


{THE  THOROUGH  BUSINESS  MAN     165 

eral  color  which  he  appropriates  is  only  a 
semblance,  in  order  that  he  may  be  more  easily 
mistaken  for  the  objects  themselves. 

''The  man  who  boasts  of  possessing  common 
sense,  altho  preserving  his  personality,  ought  not 
to  fail,  if  he  wants  to  succeed,  to  reflect  that  of 
the  person  whom  he  wishes  to  aid  him  in  suc- 
ceeding." 

Let  it  not  be  understood  for  a  moment,  that 
we  advise  any  one  to  act  contrary  to  the  im- 
pulses of  justice. 

But  cleverness  is  a  part  of  common  sense  in 
business,  and  assimilation  is  essential  to  success. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  abandon  one's  convic- 
tions in  order  to  reflect  principles  which,  with- 
out contradicting  them,  give  them  a  favorable 

color. 

Common  sense  can  remain  intact  and  be  dif- 
ferently colored,  according  as  it  is  applied  to 
the  arts,  politics,  or  science. 

It  would  not  deserve  its  name  if  it  did  not 
know  how  to  yield  to  circumstances,  in  order  to 
adorn  the  momentary  caprice  with  flowers  of 

reason. 

In  the  primitive  ages,  common  sense  consisted 
in  keeping  oneself  in  a  perpetual  state  of  de- 
fense; attack  was  also  at  times  prescribed,  by 


156 


COMMON    SENSE 


virtue  of  the  principle  that  it  is  pernicious  to 
allow  one's  rights  to  be  imperiled. 

Attack  was  also  at  times  a  form  of  repression. 

It  was  also  a  lesson  in  obedience  and  a  re- 
minder not  to  misunderstand  individual  rights. 

In  later  times,  common  sense  served  to  make 
the  advantages  of  harmony  appreciated. 

It  directed  the  descendants  of  peoples  exclu- 
sively warlike  toward  the  secret  place  where 
science  unfolds  itself  to  the  gaze  of  the  vulgar ; 
then  it  taught  them  to  provide  for  their  exist- 
ence by  working. 

It  has  demonstrated  to  them  the  necessity  of 
reflection,  by  inciting  them  to  model  their  pres- 
ent course  of  life  on  the  lessons  which  come  from 

the  past. 

It  has  given  them  the  means  to  evoke  it  easily 

and  effectively. 

It  has  injected  into  their  veins  the  calmness 
which  permits  them  to  draw  just  conclusions 
and  to  adopt  toward  preceding  reasonings  the 
attitude  of  absolute  neutrality,  without  which 
all  former  presentiments  are  marred  by  error. 

Each  epoch  was,  for  common  sense,  an  op- 
portunity to  manifest  itself  differently. 

At  the  moment  when  poetry  was  highly  hon- 
ored, it  would  have  been  unreasonable  to  have 


THE  THOROUGH  BUSINESS  MAN     157 

ignored  it,  for  the  bards  excited  great  enthu- 
siasm by  their  songs  which  gave  birth  to  heroes. 
And  now,  imbued  with  the  principles  which, 
in  his  day  might  be  taken  to  represent  what  we 
to-day  call  advanced  ideas,  Yoritomo  continues : 
''Common  sense  can,  then,  without  renoun- 
cing its  devotion  to  truth,  take  various  forms 
or  shades,  for  the  truth  of  yesterday  is  not  al- 
ways the  truth  of  to-day. 

The  gods  of  the  past  are  considered  simply 
as  idols  in  our  day  and  the  virtues  of  the  distant 
past  would  be,  at  present,  moral  defects  which 
would  prevent  men  from  winning  the  battle  of 
life,  whose  ideal  is  The  Best  for  which  all  the 
faculties  should  strive." 

The  Shogun  also  touches  lightly  on  a  subject 
which,  already  discust  in  his  time,  has  become, 
in  our  day,  a  burning  truth ;  it  is  a  question  of 
a  fault,  which  in  the  world  of  practical  life  and 
in  that  of  business  can  cause  considerable  in- 
jury to  him  who  allows  it  to  be  implanted  in  him. 
We  refer  to  that  tendency  which  has  been 
adorned  or  rather  branded  successively  with  the 
names  of  hypochondria,  pessimism,  and  lastly 
neurasthenia,  an  appellation  which  comprises  all 
kinds  of  nervous  diseases,  the  characteristic  of 
which  is  incurable  melancholy. 


158 


COMMON    SENSE 


*' There  are  people,''  he  says,  *'who  are 
afflicted  with  a  special  color-blindness. 

**  Everything  they  look  at  assumes  imme- 
diately to  their  eyes  the  most  somber  hues. 

* '  They  see  in  a  flower  only  the  germ  of  dry- 
rot  ;  the  most  ideal  beauty  appears  to  them  only 
like  the  negUgible  covering  of  some  hideous 

skeleton. 

''However,  they  hang  on  to  this  life  which 
they  do  not  cease  to  calumniate,  and  people  of 
common  sense  are  rarely  found  who  will  try  to 
reason  with  them  from  a  common-sense  stand- 
point : 

**  *  Since  life  is  so  insupportable  to  you,  why  do 
you  impose  upon    yourself    the    obligation   to 

struggle  with  it  ? 

**  'Only  insane  people  try  to  prolong  their  so- 
journ in  a  place  where  they  suffer  martyrdom.' 

"It  is  true  that  when,  perchance,  this  argu- 
ment is  placed  before  them,  they  do  not  fail 
to  reply  by  invoking  the  shame  of  desertion. 

'*  'Well,  is  not  then  the  interest  of  the  struggle 
to  which  we  are  subjected  a  sufficient  attraction 
to  keep  us  at  our  post  ?'  " 

And,  always  enamored  with  the  doctrine, 
which  we  are  now  assiduously  maintaining,  he 
concludes : 


THE  THOROUGH  BUSINESS  MAN     159 

"Common  sense  is,  at  times,  the  unfolding  of 
a  magnificent  force  which  incites  us  to  attune 
our  environment  to  actualities. 

"One  must  not,  however,  fall  into  excess  and 
draw  a  huge  sword  to  pierce  the  clouds,  which 
obscure  the  sun. 

"If  struggle  is  praiseworthy  when  we  have  to 
face  a  real  enemy,  it  becomes  worthy  of  scorn 
and  laughter  if  we  attack  a  puerile  or  imaginary 
adversary. 

"But  the  number  of  people  incapable  of  ap- 
preciating the  true  color  of  things  is  not  limited 
to  those  who  enshroud  them  in  black. 

"There  are  others,  on  the  contrary,  who  ob- 
stinately insist  upon  surrounding  them  with  a 
halo  of  sunlight  only  existing  in  their  imagina- 
tion. 

"For  such  deluded  people,  obstacles  seen 
from  a  distance  take  on  the  most  attractive  ap- 
pearance; they  would  be  readily  disposed  to 
enjoy  them  and  only  consent  to  allow  them  a 
certain  importance  if  they  absolutely  obstruct 
the  way. 

"But  until  the  moment  when  impossibility 
COTifronts  them,  do  they  deny  its  existence  or 
underrate  its  importance  by  attributing  a  favor- 
able influence  to  it. 

V.ll 


160 


COMMON   SENSE 


•'This  propensity  to  see  all  in  the  ideal  would 
be  enviable  if  it  did  not  wound  common  sense, 
which  revenges  itself  by  refusing  to  these  im- 
provident people  the  help  of  the  reasoning  power 
necessary  to  sustain  them  in  the  crisis  of  dis- 
couragement which  brings  about  irresistibly  the 
establishment  of  error. 

*  These  unbalanced  people  rarely  experience 
success,  for  they  are  unable,  as  long  as  their 
blindness  lasts,  to  mark  out  a  line  of  serious 
conduct  for  themselves. 

"All  projects  built  on  the  quicksands  of  false 
deductions  will  perish  without  even  leaving  be- 
hind them  material  sufficient  to  reconstruct 
them. 

**It  is  impossible  to  combat  strongly  enough 
this  tendency  to  self-delusion,  which  inclines  us 
to  become  the  prey  of  untruth,  by  preventing  the 
birth  of  faith,  based  on  preceding  success. 

'*  Sincere  conviction,  on  the  contrary,  will 
lead  us  to  refute  strongly  all  the  false  argu- 
ments, which  impede  thought  and  would  choke 
it  in  order  to  allow  unadulterated  pleasure  to 
be  installed  on  the  ruins  of  common  sense. 

**The  battle  of  life  demands  warriors  and  con* 
querors  as  well  as  critics,  less  brilliant,  perhaps, 
but  just  as  worthy  of  admiration,  for  their  mist- 


THE  THOROUGH  BUSINESS  MAN     161 

sion  is  equally  important,  altho  infinitely  more 
obscure. 

''Whether  he  be  a  peasant  tilling  his  field  or 
a  rich  capitalist  manipulating  his  gold,  he  who 
works  in  order  to  satisfy  the  needs  or  luxury  of 
!his  existence  is  a  fighter  whose  hours  are  spent 
in  occupations  more  or  less  dangerous. 

**Prom  time  to  time,  however,  a  cessation  of 
hostilities  is  produced;  such  always  follows  the 
appearance  of  common  sense  which,  by  giving 
to  things  their  true  proportions,  causes  the 
greater  part  of  inequalities  to  disappear. 

**  Finally,  he  who  cultivates  this  virtue  un- 
ostentatiously will  always  be  protected  from  the 
caprices  of  fortune ;  if  he  is  poor,  common  sense 
will  indicate  to  him  the  way  to  cease  to  be  poor, 
and,  if  chance  has  given  him  birth  in  opulence, 
the  counsels  of  experience  will  demonstrate  to 
him  the  frailty  of  possessions  that  one  has  not 
acquired  by  personal  effort." 

This  conclusion  is  strikingly  true,  for  it  is 
certain  that  prosperity  attained  by  personal 
effort  is  less  likely  to  fade  away  than  an  in- 
herited fortune,  whose  owner  can  only  under- 
stand the  ordinary  pleasure  of  a  possession 
which  he  has  not  ardently  desired. 

He  who  is  the  maker  of  his  own  position  is 


162 


COMMON    SENSE 


more  able  to  maintain  it ;  he  knows  the  price  of 
the  efforts  which  he  had  to  make  in  order  to 
construct  it,  and,  armed  with  common  sense,  he 
is  as  able  to  defend  his  treasure  as  to  enjoy  the 
sweet  savor  of  a  thing  which  he  has  desired, 
longed  for,  and  won  by  the  force  of  his  will 
and  judgment,  placed  at  the  service  of  circum- 
stances and  directed  toward  success. 


LESSON  XI 


COMMON  SENSE  AND  SELF-CONTROL 

'* Where  life  manifests  itself,"  says  Yori- 
tomo,  '* antagonism  always  springs  up." 

**In  the  eternal  struggle  between  the  indi- 
vidual and  social  soul,  each  of  which,  in  its 
turn,  is  victorious  or  vanquished,  a  truce  is  de- 
clared only  if  self-control  is  allied  to  common 
sense,  in  order  to  maintain  the  equilibrium  be- 
tween individual  sentiment,  natural  to  each  one 
of  us,  and  the  ideas  of  mankind  as  a  whole. 

'*A11  classes  of  society  are  subject  to  this 
law,  and,  from  the  proudest  prince  to  the  hum- 
blest peasant,  every  one  is  obliged  to  harmonize 
their  social  duties  with  their  personal  obliga- 
tions. 

'*  Those  who  understand  how  to  imbibe  thor- 
oughly the  lessons  of  common  sense,  never  ignore 
the  fact  that  morality  is  always  closely  related 
to  self-interest. 

'*If  each  one  of  us  would  observe  this  rule 
individual   happiness   would   not   be   long   in 

163 


164. 


COMMON    SENSE 


creating  a  harmony  from  which  all  men  would 

benefit. 

**One  thing  we  should  avoid,  for  the  attain- 
ment of  universal  tranquility,  and  that  is  the 
perpetual  conflict  between  individual  and  social 

interest. 

**The  day  when  each  one  of  us  can  compre- 
hend that  he  is  a  part  of  this  *all,'  which  is 
called  society,  he  will  admit  that  sinning 
against  society  may  be  considered  the  same  as 
sinning  against  oneself. 

'*  Passing  one  day  before  an  immense  cabin, 
built  of  bamboo,  which  stood  near  a  rice-plan- 
tation, I  perceived  a  man  who  hid  himself  from 
my  view,  without  however  being  able  to  escape 
my  notice  altogether.  I  went  resolutely  to  him, 
to  ask  him  the  explanation   of   his   suspicious 

movement. 

**  After  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  escape,  he 
resigned  himself  to  allow  me  to  approach  him, 
and  I  understood  the  reason  of  his  apprehension : 

**He  was  carrying  several  pieces  of  bamboo 
which  he  had  detached  from  the  house.  He 
wanted,  he  said,  to  make  a  little  blaze  because 
the  dampness  was  chilling  him. 

'*  Without  replying  to  him,  I  led  him  by  the 
hand  to  the  place  where  the   branches   taken 


AND    SELF-CONTROL 


165 


away  had  left  a  large  space,  a  kind  of  opening 
in  the  side  of  the  house,  through  which  a  keen 
wind  was  rushing. 

**  'Look,'  I  said  to  him,  *the  blaze  that  you 
are  going  to  make  will  warm  you  for  a  few 
minutes,  but,  during  the  whole  night  the  cold 
wind  will  freeze  you — ^you  and  your  compan- 
ions. 

*'  *In  order  to  procure  for  yourself  an  agree- 
able but  passing  sensation  you  are  going  to  in- 
flict upon  them  continued  sufferings,  of  which 
you  can  not  escape  your  share.' 

**The  man  hung  his  head  and  said:  *I  had 
not  thought  of  this;  I  was  cold  and  I  allowed 
myself  to  be  tempted  by  the  anticipated  pleas- 
ure of  warming  myself,  even  if  only  for  a  few 
minutes. ' 

*'And,  convinced  by  common  sense,  he  re- 
paired the  harm  which  he  had  done,  first  by 
reason  of  selfishness,  then  by  thoughtlessness, 
but,  above  all,  by  lack  of  self-control. 

'*To  dominate  oneself  to  the  point  of  not 
allowing  oneself  to  become  the  slave  of  miser- 
able contingencies  which  appear  as  temptations 
to  self-indulgence,  and  conceal  from  their  petti- 
ness the  beauty  of  the  consistent  action — ^this  is 
only  given  to  the  chosen  few  and  can  only  be 


i 
1 


166 


COMMON    SENSE 


understood  by  those  who  cultivate  common 
sense.'* 

Is  this  to  say  that  reasoning  should  be  a 
school  for  abnegation. 

Such  a  thought  is  far  from  our  minds. 

Neither  habitual  abnegation  nor  modesty  is 
among  the  militant  virtues,  and  for  this  reason 
the  critics  ought  often  to  relegate  them  to  their 
proper  place,  which  is  the  last,  very  close  to 
defects  to  which  they  closely  approach  and 
among  whose  ranks  one  must  sometimes  go  in 
order  to  discover  them. 

But,  apart  from  the  question  of  a  sterile 
abnegation,  we  must  foresee  that  it  may  be  im- 
portant not  to  overestimate  one's  individual 
interests,  to  the  visible  detriment  of  the  general 
interest. 

This  is  a  fault  common  to  all  those  who  have 
not  been  initiated  into  the  practise  of  self-con- 
trol by  means  of  reasoning  based  on  solid  prem- 
ises. 

They  are  ready  to  sacrifice  very  great  in- 
terests, which  do  not  seem  to  concern  them 
directly,  for  some  immediate  paltry  gratifica- 
tion. 

**They  act,*'  said  the  philosopher,  **like  a 
peasant  who  should  risk  his  harvest  in  order 


AND   SELF-CONTROL 


167 


to  avoid  paying  the  prince  the  rent  which  be- 
longs to  him. 

**  Common  sense  teaches  us  that  we  should 
call  to  our  assistance  self-control,  in  order  to 
repress  the  tendencies  which  tempt  men  to 
sacrifice  the  general  interest  to  some  personal 
and  vehement  desire. 

*' Rarely  do  these  people  find  their  advantage 
in  separating  themselves  from  the  mass,  and  the 
prosperity  of  the  greatest  number  is  always  the 
cradle  of  individual  fortunes." 

Leaving  questions  of  primary  importance  to 
come  to  the  subtleties  of  detail  in  which  he  de- 
lights, Yoritomo  speaks  to  us  of  self-control 
allied  to  common  sense,  extoUing  to  us  its  good 
effects  in  practical  questions  of  our  every-day 
life. 

''We  too  often  confound,"  said  he,  ''self- 
control  and  liberty. 

"We  are  tempted  to  believe  that  a  slave  can 
not  possess  it,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  special  pos- 
session of  all  those  to  whom  riches  give  a  su- 
perior position  in  the  world. 
How  profound  is  this  error! 
The  lowest  slave  can  enjoy  this  liberty, 
which  is  worth  all  others:  self-control,  which 
confers    intellectual    independence    more    pre- 


<< 


HI 


168 


COMMON    SENSE 


cious  than  the  most  precious  of  possessions, 
whereas  the  most  powerful  prince  may  be  alto- 
gether ignorant  of  this  blessing. 

'*  There  are  dependent  souls  who,  for  want 
of  the  necessary  strength  to  escape  from  vassa- 
lage to  the  external  impressions  will  always  drag 
on,  feeble  and  opprest  by  the  exactions  of  a 
mental  servitude  from  which  they  can  not  free 
themselves. 

* '  Others  rise  proudly,  ready  to  command  cir- 
cumstances, which  they  dominate  with  all  the 
power  of  their  volition  governed  by  reason. 

**It  is  common  sense  which  will  guide  them 
in  this  ascent  by  keeping  them  within  the 
limits  assigned  to  those  things  pertaining  to 
reason  and  rectitude  of  mind. 

''Before  everything,  it  is  well  not  to  forget 
that  this  faculty  invites  those  who  cultivate  it 
to  seek  always  for  exact  facts. 

''Knowledge,  in  all  its  aspects  is,  then,  a  per- 
fect educator  for  those  who  do  not  wish  to  build 
on  the  flimsy  foundation  of  approximate  truth. 

"In  pronouncing  the  word  knowledge,  we  do 
not  wish  to  speak  of  abstract  studies  which  are 
only  accessible  to  a  small  number;  we  wish  to 
express  the  thought  of  instruction  embracing  all 
things,  even  the  most  humble  and  ordinary. 


AND    SELF-CONTROL 


169 


"A  man  from  the  city  was  walking  in  the 
country  one  day,  not  far  from  a  vast  swamp. 

'*A11  around  it  were  a  few  miserable  huts, 
the  shelter  of  some  peasants  whose  business  it 
was  to  gather  the  reeds  from  the  borders,  weav- 
ing them  into  large  baskets  to  be  sold  afterward 
in  the  neighboring  country. 

"Little  by  little  twilight  descended,  slowly 
enveloping  all  things  in  a  mist  of  ashy  gray,  and 
vapors  arose  from  afar  over  the  stagnant  water. 

"The  man  from  the  city  trembled,  believing 
that  he  recognized  fantoms  in  this  moving 
vapor;  he  sought  to  flee,  but,  unfamiliar  with 
the  locality,  he  ran  along  the  side  of  the  swamp 
without  finding  the  end  of  it. 

"Exhausted  from  fatigue  and  trembling  with 
fear,  he  resolved  to  knock  at  one  of  the  cabins. 

"He  was  welcomed  by  a  basket-maker,  to 
whom  he  related  his  fright,  adding  that  he  was 
unable  to  understand  how  this  man  found  the 
courage  to  live  in  a  place  haunted  in  such  a 
terrible  way. 

"The  peasant  smiled  and  explained  to  the 
man,  whose  intellectual  culture  was,  however,  in- 
finitely superior  to  his  own,  by  what  phenom- 
enon of  evaporation  these  mirages  were  produced. 

"He  demonstrated  to  him  that  these  fantoms 


170  COMMON    SENSE 

were  only  harmless  vapors,  and  the  city  man 
admired  the  knowledge  which  common  sense 
had  taught  the  ignorant  one." 

And  Yoritomo  concluded: 

''This  peasant  gave  there  a  proof  of  what 
self-control  allied  to  common  sense  can  do. 

''Instead  of  aUowing  himself  to  be  influenced 
by  appearances,  he  confined  himself  to  reflec- 
tion,  and  observation  aided  by  attention  led 
him' to  a  deduction  resting  on  truth. 

"The  essential  factor  of  control  is  cool-headed- 
ness  which  permits  of  seeing  things  in  their 
true  light,  and  forbids  us  to  gild  them  or  to 
darken  them,  according  to  our  state  of  mind 

at  the  time." 

The  Shogun  adds : 

"Fear,  hideous  fear,  is  a  sentiment  unknown 
to  those  whose  soul  communes  with  self-con- 
trol and  common  sense. 

"The  first  of  these  qualities  will  produce  ai 
fixt  resolution  tending  to  calmness,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  makes  a  powerful  appeal  to  cool- 
headedness,  which  permits  of  reflection. 

"Fear  is  always  the  confession  of  a  weakness 
which  disavows  struggle  and  wishes  to  ignore 
the  name  of  adversary. 
"Cool-headedness  is  the  evanescent  examma- 


AND    SELF-CONTROL 


171 


tion  of  forces,  either  physical  or  intellectual, 
with  reference  to  supposed  danger. 

"Without  self-control  cool-headedness  can 
not  exist ;  but  it  only  develops  completely  under 
the  influence  of  common  sense  which  dictates  to 
it  the  reasons  for  its  existence. 

"Cool-headedness,  by  leaving  us  our  liberty 
of  thought,  enlightens  us  undoubtedly  on  the 
nature  of  danger,  at  the  same  time  that  it  sug- 
gests to  us  the  way  to  avoid  it,  if  it  really 
exists. 

"There  can  not  be  a  question  of  fear  for  those 
who  possess  the  faculties  of  which  we  have  just 
spoken,  for  it  is  well  known  that,  from  the 
moment  when  the  cause  of  fear  is  defined  it 
ceases  to  exist;  it  becomes  stupid  illusion  or  a 
real  enemy. 

'*In  the  one  case,  as  in  the  other,  it  ought 
not  to  excite  anxiety  any  longer,  but  contempt 
or  the  desire  to  fight  it. 

"For  those  whose  mind  is  not  yet  strong 
enough  to  resolve  on  one  or  other  of  these  de- 
cisions it  will  be  well  to  take  up  again  the  argu- 
ment indicated  in  the  preceding  pages,  and  to 
say: 

"Either  the  object  of  my  fear  really  exists, 
and,  in  this  case,  I  must  determine  its  nature 


m 


COMMON    SENSE 


exactly,  in  order  to  use  the  proper  means  first 
to  combat  it  and  then  to  conquer  it. 

**0r  it  is  only  an  illusion,  and  I  am  going 
to  seek  actively  for  that  which  produces  it,  in 
order  never  again  to  fall  into  the  error  of  which 
my  senses  have  just  been  the  dupes." 

Looking  over  these  manuscripts,  so  rich  in 
.  valuable  advice,  we  find  once  more    the  follow- 
ing lines: 

'*  Self-control  and  cool-headedness  are  above 
all  necessary  to  aid  in  dissimulating  impres- 
sions. 

**It  is  very  bad  to  allow  one  of  the  speakers 
in  a  dialog  to  read  the  mind  of  him  who  speaks 
to  him  like  an  open  book. 

**He  whose  thoughts  are  imprest  vividly  on 
the  surface  is  always  placed  at  a  glaring  dis- 
advantage. 

'*The  thought  of  glorifying  hypocrisy  is  far 
from  our  minds,  for  it  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  attitude  which  we  recommend. 

**The  hypocrite  strives  to  assume  emotions 
which  he  does  not  feel. 

**The  man  gifted  with  cool-headedness  is  in- 
tent on  never  allowing  them  to  be  seen. 

"It  keeps  his  adversary  in  ignorance  of  the 
effect  produced  by  his  reasoning  and  allows 


AND    SELF-CONTROL 


173 


him  to  take  his  chance,  until  the  moment  when, 
in  spite  of  this  feigned  indifference,  he  reveals 
himself  and  permits  his  mind  to  be  seen. 

'^Now,  to  know  the  designs  of  a  rival,  when 
he  is  ignorant  of  those  that  we  have  conceived, 
is  one  of  the  essential  factors  of  success. 

*  *  In  every  way,  he  who  is  informed  about  the 
projects  of  his  adversary  walks  preceded  by  a 
torch  of  light,  while  the  adversary,  if  he  can 
not  divine  his  opponent's  plans,  continues  to 
fight  in  darkness.'* 

The  most  elementary  common  sense  counsels 
then  cool-headedness  when  exchanging  ideas, 
even  when  the  discussion  is  of  quite  an  amicable 
nature. 

From  this  habit  there  will  result  a  very 
praiseworthy  propensity  to  exercise  self-con- 
trol, which  is  only  a  sort  of  superior  cool- 
headedness. 

It  is  also  the  cause  of  a  noble  pride,  because  it 
is  more  difficult  to  win  a  victory  over  one's  pas- 
sions than  to  conquer  ordinary  enemies,  and  he 
who,  with  the  support  of  common  sense,  suc- 
ceeds in  ruling  himself,  can  calculate,  without 
arrogance,  the  hour  when  he  will  reign  over 
the  minds  of  others. 


LESSON   XII 

COMMON  SENSE  DOES  NOT  EXCLUDE 
GREAT   ASPIRATIONS 

"A  VERY  common  error,"  says  Yoritomo,  *4s 
that  which  consists  in  classifying  common  sense 
among  the  amorphous  virtues,  only  applicable 
to  things  and  to  people  whose  fundamental  prin- 
ciple is  materiality. 

''This  is  a  calumny  which  is  spread  broad- 
cast by  'fools  who  scatter  their  lives  to  the  four 
winds  of  caprice  and  extravagance. 

**Not  only  does  common  sense  not  exclude 
beauty,  but  it  really  aids  in  its  inception  and 
protects  its  growth  by  maintaining  the  reasons 
which  produced  its  appearance. 

''Without  it,  the  reign  of  the  most  admired 
things  would  be  of  short  duration,  granting 
that  the  want  of  logic  had  not  prevented  their 

production. 

"What  is  there  more  commendable  than  the 
love  of  work,  devotion  to  science,  ambition  to 

succeed  ? 

"Could  all  this  exist  if  common  sense  did 

174 


GREAT   ASPIRATIONS 


175 


not  intervene  to  permit  the  development  of  the 
deductions  on  which  are  based  the  resolutions 
that  inspired  in  us  these  aspirations. 

"But  this  is  not  all;  without  logic,  which  per- 
mits us  to  give  them  solidity,  the  most  serious 
resolutions  would  soon  become  nothing  but 
vague  projects,  shattered  as  soon  as  formed. 

**In  common  sense  lies  the  cause  and  the 
object  of  things. 

**It  is  common  sense  which  makes  us  realize 
that  difference  that  few  persons  are  willing  to 
analyze,  and  which  lies  between  judgment  and 
opinion. 

**We  almost  always  succeed  in  readily  con- 
founding them,  and  from  this  mistake  results 
a  too-frequent  cause  of  failures. 

"Opinion  is  a  conviction  which  is  capable  of 
modification. 

"In  addition  to  this,  as  it  is  based  on  mere 
indications  and  probability,  it  is  rarely  free 
from  the  personal  element. 

"Opinion  depends  upon  the  favorite  inclina- 
tion, upon  the  mood  of  the  moment,  upon  sundry 
considerations,  which  direct  it  almost  always 
toward  the  desired  solution. 

''Also  it  depends  often  on  thoughtfulness  or 

on  the  inexactness  of  the  initial  representation, 
V.12 


176 


COMMON    SENSE 


which  we  are  pleased  to  disguise  slightly  at  first, 
then  little  by  little  to  color  in  accordance  with 
our  desires. 

**  Falsehood  does  not  necessarily  enter  into 
this  process  of  tricking  things  out;  it  is,  three- 
quarters  of  the  time,  the  result  of  an  illusion 
which  we  are  prone  to  perpetuate  within  us. 

**We  are  too  often  in  the  position  of  the  three 
wise  men  who,  while  rummaging  in  an  old  sar- 
cophagus, discovered  a  vase  whose  primitive 
function  they  were  unable  to  determine  with 
any  certainty. 

**One  of  them  was  a  poet  and  an  idealist. 

*'The  second  only  prized  positive  things. 

**The  third  belonged  to  the  category  of 
melancholy  people. 

**  After  a  few  days  devoted  to  special  research 
work,  they  met  together  again  in  order  to  com- 
municate to  each  other  their  different  opinions 
about  the  exhumed  vase. 

"  *I  have  found  the  secret,'  said  the  first. 

"  'I  also,'  affirmed  the  second. 

"  *I  equally  have  found  it,'  replied  the  third. 

**And  each  one  based  his  opinion  on  pre- 
conceived notions  which  reflected  their  bent  of 
mind: 

**  'This  vase,'  said  the  first,  'was  intended 


GREAT   ASPIRATIONS 


177 


to  hold  incense,  which  they  burned  a  that 
epoch,  in  the  belief  that  the  smoke  dispelled  the 
evil  spirits.' 

**  'Nonsense!'  cried  out  the  second;  'this  vase 
is  a  pot  which  at  that  time  served  as  a  recep- 
tacle for  keeping  spices.' 

"  'Not  sol'  insisted  the  third,  'it  is  an  urn 
of  antiquated  design  used  for  receiving  tears; 
that  is  all.' 

"These  three  serious  men  were  certamly  sin- 
cere in  giving  explanations  which  each  one  of 
them  declared  decisive.  They  exprest  opinions 
which  they  believed  implicitly  and  which  their 
respective  natures  directed  irresistibly  toward 
their  peculiar  bents  of  mind. 

"Judgment,  in  order  to  be  free  from  all  which 
is  not  common  sense,  ought  then  to  put  aside 
all  personal  predilections,  all  desire  to  form  a 
conclusion  to  humor  our  inclinations. 

"Absolute  impartiality  of  judgment  is  one 
of  the  rarest  gifts  and  at  the  same  time  is  the 
noblest  quality  which  we  can  possess." 

We  should  then  conclude,  with  the  Shogun, 
that  common  sense  aids  in  the  production  of 
noble  aspirations,  and  is  not  concerned  only  with 
that  which  relates  to  materiality,  as  so  many 
people  would  have  us  understand. 


178 


COMMON    SENSE 


The  Nippon  philosopher  teaches  us  also  the 
part  which  he  assigns  to  the  habitual  practise 

of  goodness. 

*'We  are  too  easily  persuaded,"  he  says, 
^'that  goodness,  like  beauty,  is  a  gift  of  birth. 

**It  is  time  to  destroy  an  error  rooted  in  our 
minds  for  too  many  centuries. 

**  Goodness  is  acquired  by  reasoning  and  logic, 
as  are  so  many  other  qualities,  and  it  is  common 
sense  which  governs  its  formation. 

**Have  we  ever  reflected  over  the  sum  total 
of  annoyances  that  people,  who  are  essentially 
wicked,  add  every  day  to  those  imposed  upon 
them  by  circumstances? 

*'Are  we  capable  of  appreciating  the  joys  of 
life  when  impatience  makes  the  nerves  vibrate 
or  when  anger  brandishes  its  torch  in  the  bends 
and  turns  of  the  brain? 

**  People  who  lack  goodness  are  the  first  to  be 
punished  for  their  defect.  Serenity  is  unknown 
to  them  and  they  live  in  perpetual  agitation, 
caused  by  the  irritation  which  they  experience  on 
the  slightest  provocation." 

Common  sense  indicates  then  in  an  irrefutable 
way  that  there  is  every  advantage  in  being  good. 

And  Yoritomo  proves  it  to  us,  by  using  his 
iavorite  syllogism : 


GREAT   ASPIRATIONS 


179 


** Happiness,"  he  says,  ''is  above  all  a  com- 
bination of  harmony  and  absence  of  sorrow. 

''Wickedness,  by  inspiring  us  with  discontent 
and  anger,  disturbs  this  harmony. 

"We  must,  therefore,  banish  wickedness,  that 
we  may  cultivate  goodness,  which  is  the  creator 
of  harmony." 

Continuing  still  further  the  same  argument, 

he  adds : 

"Common  sense  would  have  the  tendency  even 
to  make  us  promise  to  be  good,  so  as  to  satisfy 
our  own  egotism. 

"Goodness  creates  smiles;  to  sow  happiness 
around  one,  is  a  way  of  having  neither  eyes  nor 
heart  offended  by  the  sight  of  people  in  tears; 
it  is  the  eliciting  of  an  agreeable  joy,  whose 
rays  will  shed  a  golden  light  over  our  life ;  is  it 
not  more  pleasing  to  hear  the  ring  of  laughter 
than  to  listen  to  painful  sobs?" 

So,  we  should  never  lose  an  opportunity  of 
being  good  and  that  without  mental  reservation. 

Gratitude  is  not  the  possession  of  every  soul 
and  he  who  does  good  may  expect  to  receive 
ingratitude. 

He  will  not  suffer  from  it,  if  he  has  done  good, 
not  in  the  way  a  creditor  does  who  intends  ta 
come  on  the  very  day  appointed  to  claim  his 


180 


COMMON    SENSE 


debt,  but  as  a  giver  who  fulfils  his  mission  from 
which  he  is  expecting  a  personal  satisfaction, 
without  thinking  of  any  acknowledgment  for 
what  he  has  done. 

If  the  debtor  is  filled  with  gratitude,  the  joy 
of  being  good  is  that  much  increased. 

There  is  a  species  of  common  sense  of  a 
particularly  noble  quality  that  is  called  moral 
sense  and  which  the  Shogun  defines  thus: 

**The  moral  sense  is  the  common  sense  of  the 
soul ;  it  is  the  superior  power  of  reasoning  which 
stands  before  us  that  we  may  be  prevented  from 
passively  following  our  instincts;  it  is  by  its 
assistance  that  we  succeed  without  too  much 
difficulty  in  climbing  the  steep  paths  of  duty. 

''This  sense  discerns  an  important  quality, 
which  puts  us  on  our  guard  against  the  danger 
of    certain    theories,    whose    brilliancy    might 

seduce  us. 

*'It  is  the  moral  sense  which  indicates  to  us 
the  point  of  delimitation  separating  legitimate 
concessions  from  forbidden  license. 

*'It  allows  us  to  go  as  far  as  the  dangerous 
place  where  the  understanding  with  conscience 
might  become  compromised  and,  by  reasoning, 
proves  to  us  that  there  would  be  serious  danger 
in  proceeding  further. 


GREAT   ASPIRATIONS 


181 


**It  is  the  moral  sense  which  distinguishes 
civilized  man  from  the  brute ;  it  is  the  regulator 
of  the  movements  of  the  soul  and  the  faithful 
indicator  of  the  actions  which  depend  on  it." 

We  must  really  pity  those  who  are  deprived 
of  moral  sense  for  they  are  the  prey  of  all  the 
impulses  created  in  them  by  the  brute-nature, 
which  sleeps  in  the  depths  of  each  human 
creature. 

The  man  whose  moral  sense  is  developed  will 
live  at  peace  with  himself,  for  he  will  only  know 
the  evil  of  doubt  when  he  realizes  the  satis- 
faction of  having  conquered  it. 

Moral  sense,  like  common  sense,  is  formed  by 
reasoning  and  is  fostered  by  the  practise  of 
constant  application. 

It  is  the  property  of  those  who  avoid  evil, 
as  others  avoid  the  spatter  of  mud,  through 
horror  of  the  stains  which  result  from  it. 

Those  who  do  not  have  this  apprehension 
flounder  about,  cover  themselves  with  mud,  sink 
in  it  and  finally  are  swallowed  up. 

Yoritomo  again  takes  up  the  defense  of  com- 
mon sense,  with  reference  to  the  arts. 

''Can  one  imagine,"  he  says,  "a  painter  con- 
ceiving a  picture  and  grouping  his  figures  in  such 
a  way  as  to  violate  the  rules  of  common  sense? 


182 


COMMON   SENSE 


''We  should  be  doomed,  if  this  were  true,  to 
see  men  as  tall  as  oak-trees  and  houses  resem- 
bling children's  toy  constructions,  placed  with- 
out reference  to  equilibrium  among  green  or 
pink  animals,  whose  legs  had  queer  shapes. 

**  Madmen  represent  nature  thus,  which  seems 
to  them  outlined  in  strange  forms. 

*'But  people  of  common  sense  reproduce 
things  just  as  sound  judgment  conceives  of 
them ;  if  they  throw  around  them  at  times  the 
halo  of  beauty  which  seems  exaggerated,  let  us 

not  decry  them. 

''Beauty  exists  everywhere;  it  dwells  in  the 
most  humble  objects,  makes  all  around  us  re- 
splendent and,  if  we  refuse  to  see  it,  we  are 
blinded  by  an  unjust  prejudice,  or  our  minds 
are  not  open  to  the  faculty  of  contemplation. 

"It  is  revealed  above  all  to  those  who  culti- 
vate common  sense  and  reject  the  sophistries  of 
untruth  that  they  may    surround    themselves 

with  truth. 

"Such  people  scorn  trivial  casualties;  they 
adopt  an  immutable  rule,  reasoning,  which  per- 
mits  them  to  deduce,  to  judge,  and  afterward  to 

produce. 

"All  beautiful  creations  are  derived  from 

this  source. 


! 


GREAT   ASPIRATIONS 


183 


"The  most  admirable  inventions  would  never 
have  been  known  if  common  sense  had  not 
helped  them  to  be  produced,  strengthening  those 
who  conceived  them  by  the  support  of  logic, 
which  demonstrated  to  them  the  truth  of  their 
presumptions. 

"Authority  follows,  based  on  the  experience 
which,  by  maintaining  the  effect  of  judgment, 
has  armed  them  with  the  strength  of  the  mind, 
the  true  glory  of  peaceful  conquerors. ' ' 

Would  one  not  say  that  the  Shogun,  in 
writing  these  lines,  foresaw  the  magnificent 
efforts  which  we  are  witnessing  each  day  and 
that  from  the  depths  of  time  he  caught  a  glimpse 
of  these  brave  conquerors  of  the  air  and  of 
fc,pace,  whose  great  deeds,  seeming  at  times  the 
result  of  a  crazy  temerity,  are  in  reality  only 
homage  rendered  to  common  sense,  which  has 
permitted  them  to  calculate  the  value  of  their 
initiative  without  mistake  ? 

And  one  can  not  be  denied  the  pleasure  of 
entering  once  more  into  close  conmiunion  of 
thought  with  the  old  philosopher  when  he  says : 

"Enthusiasm  is  of  crystal  but  common  sense 
is  of  brass." 


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lofty  ideals.  It  is  particularly  for  those  who  daily 
defraud  themselves  because  of  doubt,  fearthought, 
and  foolish  timidity. 

Thousands  of  persons  are  held  in  physical  and 
mental  bondage,  owing  to  lack  of  self-confidence. 
Distrusting  themselves,  they  live  a  life  of  limited 
effort,  and  at  last  pass  on  without  having  realized 
more  than  a  small  part  of  their  rich  possessions.  It 
is  believed  that  this  book  will  be  of  substantial  serv- 
ice to  those  who  wish  to  rise  above  mediocrity,  and 
who  feel  within  them  something  of  their  divine  m- 
heritance.    It  is  commended  with  confidence  to  every 

ambitious  man. 

CONTENTS 

Preliminary  Steps-Building  the  WiU-The  Cnre  of  Self-Con- 
BCiousness-The  Power  of  Right  Thinking- Sources  of  Inspira- 
ti^r-CWntration -Physicaf Basis-Fiutfing  Youi^^^^ 
Habits-The  Man  and  the  Manner-The  Discouraged  Man-Daily 
Stem  i^Self-Culture-Imagination  and  Initiative-PoeiUve  and 
Stive  Thonght-Tbe  Si^aking  Voice-Confldence  in  Business 
^oSnSsociety-CWfldence  in  Public  Soeaking-Toward 
the  Heights— Memory  Passages  that  Bmld  Confidence. 

I2moy   Cloth.     $I.2J,  net;  by  mal,  $i.3S 

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How  TO  Develop 

Power  and 

Personality 

IN  Speaking 

By  GRENVILLE  KLEISER 

AMlMt  of  "How  to»Speak  in  Public."  Inwoduction  by  Levii  0.  Brti- 

tow,  D.D.,  Profttsor  Em*ritutj  Yalt  Divinity  School 

This  new  book  gives  practical  suggestions  and 
exercises  for  Developing  Power  and  Personality  ia 
Speaking.     It  has  many  selections  for  practise. 
POWER.— Power  of  Voice— Power  of  Gesture— . 
Power  of  Vocabulary — Power  of  Imagination — 
Power  of  English  Style — Power  of  Illustration — 
Power  of  Memory — Power  of  Extempore  Speech 
—Power  of  Conversation — Power  of  Silence- 
Power  of  a  Whisper — Power  of  the  Eye. 
PERSONAUTY.— More  Personality  for  the  Lawyer 
—The  Salesman— The  Preacher— The  Politician 
— The    Physician — The    Congressman — The 

Alert  Citizen. 

«*  I  give  it  my  hearty  commendadon.  It  should  take  its 
place  upon  the  library  ghelves  of  every  public  ipcaker  ;  be  read 
carefully,  consulted  frequently,  and  held  as  worthy  of  faithful 
obedience.  For  kck  of  the  useful  hints  that  here  abound, 
many  men  murder  the  truth  by  their  method  of  presenting  it.  * 
— S.  Parkks  Caoman,  D.D.,  Brooklyn,  N.  V. 

"  It  is  a  book  of  value.     The  selections  are  fine.     It  is  an 
exceUent  book  for  coUcge  students.  "—Wii.  P.  Fmn,  Prttf- 
dnU  pro  tern,  of  the  United  States  Senste, 
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NEW  YORK  AMD  LONDON 


"When  the  age  of  reason  arrives,  the  most  efficacious 
education  commences — that  of  THE  EDUCATION 
OF  SELF."— DR.  DUBOIS. 

THE 

Education  of  Self 

By  DR.  PAUL  DUBOIS 

Author  ef  "The  Psychic  Treatment  of  Nervous  Disorders,  "etc. 
Authorized  Translation  by 

EDWARD    G.   RICHARDS 

"To  live  our  lives  worthily,  working 
for  the  happiness  of  all,  is  everything/'  So 
says  the  author  of  this  notable  book,  in  its 
concluding  chapter,  on  **  Idealism/  The 
seventeen  brilliant  chapters  preceding  show 
how  the  proper  education  of  self  must  lead 
to  this  desired  result.  These  chapters  treat 
wisely  and  helpfully  of  the  Conquest  of 
Happiness;  Thought;  The  Act;  Conscience; 
Education;  Moral  Clear-Sightedness ;  In- 
dulgence; Patience;  Courage;  Chastity; 
Sincerity;  and  other  topics.  It  is  a  vol- 
ume to  be  read  and  assimilated. 

"The  book  sets  forth  a  fine  philosophy,  which  properly  ap- 
plied, is  a  balm  for  the  tired  8oul."-i>/.  Louis  Post-Dtspatch, 

"  The  book  is  thoroughly  wholesome  and  stimulating,  teach- 
ing important  lessons  of  conduct."— Z.if««^  Age,  Boston. 

"  Discusses  at  lentfth  the  various  influences,  passions,  etc., 
that  weaken  or  strengthen  the  habits  of  self-control.  —Brooklyn 
Daily  Eagle. 

12mo,  cloth,  350 pp.    $1.50,  net;  $1.60,  post-paid 

FUNK   &   WAGNALLS   COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  Publishers  London 


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